The 225th Hunger Games: Bloodshed
by Europa22
Summary: The third in my Hunger Game series. After the 224th Hunger Games were a complete disaster, the Capitol is displeased. President Raven knows the Capitol wants their fill of blood and she's going to give it to them. She also decides to kill two birds with one stone. She has thought of the perfect idea to not only bring the Capitol their precious blood, but also weaken the Districts.
1. The Quarter Quell

**The 225th Hunger Games: Bloodshed**

**The Quarter Quell:**

**President Raven's POV:**

"That's enough, Alexandria, I can take it from here," I barked.

My stylist gave a meek little bow and left. I finished brushing my shoulder length black hair. I had on a black dress with a white jacket. I had to look my best. I was going to be in front of all of Panem in a few minutes after all. I sat down and waited for my call time. Hopefully this year's games will be a success. At least, they had better have a wonderful twist. Last year's games, the 224th, were a complete disaster!

The arena was a complete normality. It was a big forest. Like _that_ hasn't happened before. Most, if not all, of the tributes were little kids afraid to fight. Pretty much all of Panem watched kids go hide in trees for two weeks. The only tributes that stuck out were the district one girl, the district three boy, and the district seven boy. The rest of them were young, timid, and couldn't fight to save their lives, which they didn't.

I was rooting for the District Three boy. I usually picked a favorite in the Careers, but there was only one and she was, well, a tad bit insane. The district one girl was huge and went a little bit crazy in the arena. The District Three boy knew a ton about knives and killed a bunch of kids. The victor was Streak, from District Seven. Pretty much he hid in trees and then would jump down and slit the throat of whatever tribute walked under the tree. Great strategy, but dreadfully boring to watch.

"President Raven, we are here to escort you to the stage." I spun around and saw two guards. I smiled at them and let them lead the way. I usually would have been the one to lead the way, but it _was_ their job after all. I was a fairly independent woman, being the first female President. Most people didn't think I would be able to pull it off… Let's just say most of them didn't get a chance to voice their opinions again.

We reached the stage and I walked onto it. The crowd cheered, and I smiled coyly to all of Panem.

"Hello, and welcome to the Quarter Quell reading." I then started my huge speech that I had memorized by heart. Every President had to have it memorized.

"Let's take a look back at some of our more successful Quarter Quells. There was the 150th Quarter Quell that only Reaped those of a victor bloodline. Then there was the 175th Quarter Quell that changed the Games completely. If you killed someone directly, such as with a weapon or in hand to hand combat, you would also die. That was quite an exciting game! Now, let us get to the drawing of the card." I waited for the boy with the box and the girl with the key to make it to the stage.

I remembered the last Quarter Quell was a sad excuse of a Game. It was before I was President. Otherwise I would have changed it without hesitation. It was that the age limit for reaping was lowered to five year olds to eight year olds.

You do realize how boring that would have been! I mean, watch a bunch of five year olds run screaming for their lives, and one sadistic eight year old chase them down and kill them all? Let's just say the Capital was not pleased.

They finally made it, and I took the key from the girl. I unlocked the box, and drew out the envelope that had 225 on it. I showed it to the audience and could feel the suspense thick in the air. I opened it and slowly drew the card out. I quickly read it and almost laughed out loud. Oh, this was too good to be true! Now this, this was pure genius!

"To all of Panem, I must delay reading this card. It specifically says it may not be read to the public until the tributes stand on their chariots in the City Circle." I heard awws and sighs of disappointment. "One thing I can assure you of, Panem, is that this will be one of the best games yet. The Head Gamemaker, Lavender, finally got to design her own arena this year! She also has worked her fingers to the bone on a special muttation and when we mix it with this Quarter Quell, it will be quite a show. Thank you Panem, and have a good night!" I walked off the stage with a smirk. This would be _so_ entertaining!

**Hello readers :D yes, this was taken down, but I've reuploaded it legally ;) **

**Anyways, i was really sad when this one was taken down since it was my most popular story to date, but hopefully i will get some new readers by posting one or two chapters a week, maybe more :D. If you've already read this, feel free to reread, review, and favorite ;D**


	2. District One Reapings

**Reapings:**

**District One:**

**Rouge's POV:**

"It's time to wake up, Rouge," Silver whispered. I groaned and started tapping her on the forehead. "What _are_ you doing?" she said, aggravated.

"Trying to find the snooze button," I moaned. Silver started laughing and ripped the silk covers off of me. She then turned the light on and left the room with my sheets. I rolled my eyes and hopped into the shower. I rinsed my hair and body as thoroughly as possible. Father and Mother would settle for nothing less than perfect. I eventually dragged myself out and wrapped a towel around myself. I opened the door to find Silk and Silver sitting there waiting. I just walked by them. We were siblings so it wasn't awkward. My brother, Silk, was a year younger than me. I was eighteen and this was my last year of Reapings, thank Panem! I was almost done worrying about getting sucked into the Hunger Games! I mean, I've trained for them for awhile, but a few years ago my father pulled me out of training. He didn't want his precious "pet" to get injured.

I looked in the mirror of my vanity and sat down. I was about to brush my hair when Silver appeared right behind me. She took the brush and started stroking it. She was one year older than me. She was the wise, mature one. I loved both her and Silk to death. They were my only real friends. Everyone else was just superficial and annoying. She brushed my long, blonde hair and I rolled my eyes. I wished I could cut it short. It wasn't because I didn't like it long. I actually loved my long hair, but I knew it would pretty much kill Father if I cut it. However, Father would never allow me to cut my hair. He wouldn't want my appeal to lessen in anyway. My blue eyes were the same as Silver's and my mother's. Silver, however, had dirty blonde hair. Silk showed up behind me. He had Father's brown hair, but mother's blue eyes.

"Mother wants to know if you're almost done," Polish said venomously. I glanced over at her. She was the eldest of the four of us, twenty one. She had inherited our father's looks and his personality. She was such a jerk and manipulative witch!

"No," I said briskly as I walked into my closet. I looked through my rack of clothes. I had so many dresses, but I hated them all. I hated all the clothes I owned. It was just another sign I was _his_ daughter. My father, Victory Lockett, was the richest man in District One. He was even richer than the mayor! He ran a shipping business with the Capital, which paid quite well. However, how he got successful you don't want to know.

My mother, Sparkle Lockett, was a total air head. She seemed to mean well, but she just wasn't fit to be a mother. She didn't care about anyone but herself.

I decided on a floor length gold dress with gold stilettos. It sparkled and glimmered, and I hated it. However, it was something Father would make me wear, even if I choose something I actually wanted to wear. This was the least embarrassing option of all my dresses.

I walked out and Silver clapped. Silk must have gone to finish getting ready. I put my hair in a decorative bun and skillfully weaved gold and silver into it. I heard the door shut and I turned around. Father and Mother were standing there. Silver was gone, so I assumed Father had ushered her out quietly. He knew that I would have made her stay just to make him mad.

"Oh, my baby! You're so beautiful!" Mother ran over to me and stroked my hair.

"_Don't touch me_!" I hissed. My mother backed away. My father's eyes flashed with anger.

"Don't talk to your mother like that." He said calmly. I rolled my eyes. I hated this man. He was evil.

"I'll talk to her however I want to." I yelled. I knew this would set him off. He walked over and grabbed me by my hair.

"You'll do as I say and you'll like it." He whispered.

"I'm already doing what you want. I'm already betrothed to that putrid boy!" I glared at him. I hated this man. Each of his children had a purpose in his mind. Polish was going to take over the business when he died. She was his heir. Silver was going to marry the mayor's son. Silk was going to win next year's Hunger Games. Then there was me. His trophy daughter. I was going to marry the second richest boy in all District One, Magnificent.

Magnificent was a total tool. All he cared about was himself, and was pretty much a better looking version of my father. He seemed less cruel, but he made up for it with his ego. You see, originally I was to go into the Hunger Games. He forced me into training. The reason was to go into the Hunger Games was because I was the ugliest child. I had a huge head and my facial features were too big. I had no other purpose than to win the Hunger Games and be a victor. Then I hit puberty.

At first, it wasn't noticeable. Then, by the time I hit sixteen, I was beautiful. I hated being beautiful. No one took me seriously anymore. Everyone just wanted to use me. It was a curse and I wish I was still that ugly little girl. He took me out of training and forced me to go to his parties. He showed me off to everyone and then gave me off to the richest person who wanted me.

Now our businesses would be combined and I would be stuck married to that idiot boy. For the past two years, since he made that betrothal and decided my life, I had done every rebellious thing possible. I would sneak out, dance at parties, and argue at every possible opportunity. Of course, he was the only person I openly hated. To everyone else, except Silver and Silk, I put on a mask of coldness. I didn't want anyone close to me. They were all just out to use me for my body, money, or both.

He finally let go. "You're walking with Magnificent to the Reapings. After that, you'll come home and help plan your engagement party." He stormed out of the room and Mother followed behind him. She was such a weakling. She should stand up to that bastard! Silver and Silk would do it occasionally, but not enough. I quickly fixed my hair in the mirror and went downstairs. Silver sat there with an all knowing look. She knew how Father could be.

I silently ate my breakfast. This was ridiculous. I had to marry that boy and…do things with him. It was disgusting. I hated my father. He was the devil in a suit. The doorbell rang and my mother answered it. Magnificent stood there in a nice suit. My mother ushered me out.

He linked his arm in mine and we began our walk.

"Hello, gorgeous," he said. I just kept looking ahead.

"You could at least smile," he whispered.

I didn't answer and he groaned. Of course he would tell my father and I would hear about it later. I didn't really care. I would hate Magnificent all my life. Anyways, he didn't want my love. He wanted someone on his arm in public. He wanted money. He wanted power. He wanted me in bed. Sadly, he would get all those things but he would never get my love.

We got to our sections and he gave me a peck on the cheek. I walked to my section completely emotionless. I walked stiff and proper and everyone moved for me. They knew I could make their lives hell if I wanted to. I just would never do that sort of thing. I was a good person deep down inside. I had dreams! I dreamed that one day I would be free from my father, and I would be. Sadly, I would be just moved to a different cage. I would be married to a rich idiot.

I stood there and listened to the mayor's speech. I really didn't like Mayor Braun. He was a bit selfish. He said the games were great and stuff, yet he wouldn't let his own son volunteer! How terrible was that! Of course, I knew the feeling of having a controlling parent.

Our escort, Vladimir, came to the stage. I actually kind of liked him. I mean, most Capital people seemed a bit shallow and selfish. However, Vladimir just seemed fun and peppy!

"Helloooooo everyone! How are you?" he yelled. Everyone cheered. I just rolled my eyes. Why did everyone love the Hunger Games so much? He stuck his hand in the girl's ball first and dug around. I wondered who it would be.

"Luxury Soltis," I looked and saw a small, twelve year old girl go to the stage. She had light brown hair and green eyes. She was fairly pretty. I knew someone would volunteer for her, though. She would be free…

That's when it hit me. My engagement was in a few days. I would be married to a complete idiot. I would have beautiful children who would most likely turn out to be brats. None of it could be avoided unless I did one thing. Become the victor of the 225th Hunger Games. I knew it was risky, but it was a win-win situation. If I survived, I would win and come home a victor. I wouldn't have to marry anyone and could sit in luxury for the rest of my life. If I lost, I would be free and would never have to marry that idiot. I wondered what the twist to this Quarter Quell was. On television, President Raven said one of the rules of that specific card was that she couldn't read it until the Chariots were in the City Circle.

It didn't matter. I could handle whatever it was!

Vladimir asked for volunteers and I yelled out that I would, but so did Mascara Orite. She was a huge girl who had been training for the Hunger Games her entire life. This was her last year, but it was mine too. So we did the regular District One tradition. We raced to the stage. Whichever one of us got there first would be the female tribute. Now, Mascara was strong and could shove everyone out of her way. However, I could glare at anyone and they would move. Plus, I was way faster than her. I hitched up my dress and started running. I had to make it. I didn't even want to think of what Father would do to me for even trying to volunteer. It would be a far worse punishment than if I were to cut my hair. I made it two steps ahead of her to the stage. She screamed in defeat and went back to her place.

"What's your name, hun?" Vladimir asked.

"Rouge Lockett and I will be the victor of the 225th Hunger Games." Everyone cheered and I just stared emotionlessly at the audience. They were all idiots. I was expected to smile and wave, but I kept my mask of coldness up. If there was one thing my father taught me, it was how to act. No one would see the real me this entire game. That was guaranteed. I looked over at him. I had never seen him so angry. Oh well, he would live with it. He had no choice. He didn't control me… Not anymore…

My mother and brother looked shocked, Silver was tearing up, and Polish was smirking. Either she was glad to see me go or was happy I finally disobeyed father to my fullest extent. I even found Magnificent in the audience. His mouth was wide open in disbelief. I almost broke my emotional façade and smiled. Now he would never get any piece of me. Not him or any other man unless I wanted him to!

"Well, now it's the boy's turn!" Vladimir reached into the ball.

"Silk Lockett!" I froze. No… Not my brother. He couldn't be subjected to this. I could feel the fear and panic distorting my face. I tried to conceal it, but I wasn't doing such a good job. I could deal with random people being reaped and dying, but not my brother!

"I volunteer!" I looked to the owner of the voice and froze. It was Alex Carter. I internally groaned. He was Magnificent's younger brother. Magnificent always made sure I knew Alex was his _step_ brother. He said that there was no way he could be blood related to such an imbecile. I had only talked to Alex a few times. He seemed intelligent. Not only intelligent, but ambitious. I wasn't surprised he would volunteer for the Hunger Games, but why at the age of sixteen? Why not wait a few more years?

"These are the District One tributes of the Quarter Quell!" Vladimir screeched. He lifted both of our arms in the air. Alex was smiling and basking in the adoration. I just ignored it. I didn't want to be the typical district one girl. The girl that always smiled. The girl that was sexy and got the men of the Capital to fall at her feet. I already could do that and it was terrible. I wanted people to sponsor me for my skills, not my looks.

I shook hands with Alex. He had platinum blonde hair and green eyes. When I looked into his green eyes, I saw something. It wasn't intimidation or arrogance, but thinking. He was observing me. He was trying to figure something out. I had a competitor. He wasn't conceited like most of the male tributes from here were. He was actually intelligent. I guess this year District One had two unlikely tributes…

**Alex's POV:**

We walked into the Justice Building. The guards stood very close to both of us, but for different reasons. They stood next to me because they didn't want any violence. They stood next to Rouge because she was beautiful. She just ignored them and her face remained emotionless. We separated and I entered my waiting room.

I sat down and kept thinking. There had to be more to her. She always seemed like a rich little bitch. I knew she used to train for the Hunger Games, but she eventually got pulled out. I always thought it was because she didn't want to break a nail, but there seemed to be more going through her mind. She was either really smart, a great actress, a heartless harpy, or all three. She was a force to be reckoned with.

I looked out the window at the crowd. They all seemed to adore me. Of course, people had always adored me. I had the term "golden boy" branded on me a long time ago. I was the nice, athletic, and smart kid.

The real question was why did people think I was nice? I was above everyone else. I tended to look down on everyone until they proved themselves to me. Then I would respect them and junk, but most people didn't prove themselves. Most people were weaker than me.

That's one of the reason I wanted to be in the Hunger Games. I wanted to prove I was the best in District One. How better to prove it than to be the winner of the Quarter Quell? I had this plan for quite awhile. I also had a strategy. I wasn't going to just be part of any Career alliance. I would only have the best tributes in my alliance. So pretty much an improved, smaller version of the Career Pack.

I sat down and waited for my family. Finally, they entered. My father, Andrew, didn't say anything. He was a quiet guy. He just gave me a salute and stood there waiting for the others to finish. My mother, Maddie, came in with tears of joy. She hugged me, which was uncommon for her.

"Make me proud," she whispered. It was weird being so much taller than your mother. She was 5'7", the same height as Rouge, while I was 5'11". Then Magnificent came in and I wanted to groan. He was such an idiot.

"I can't believe her," he fumed, "She volunteered for the Hunger Games! Then to top it all off, she told the Peacekeepers to make sure neither me nor her father were allowed to see her!"

I almost laughed, but I a managed to keep a straight face. Wow, that girl had spunk too.

"Anyways, just try not to die too stupidly. I don't want people to think my step brother was that much of a fool." I just rolled my eyes.

"I'll try my best." They left, and I waited for my other visitors. Guys and girls alike came, but I was waiting for someone in specific. Finally, she came at the end.

"Hey, you made it up to the stage in one piece," Olivia said. I drew her into my arms and gave her a quick kiss.

"Would you expect anything less?" I grinned. Olivia was my girlfriend and I loved her. She was my equal in so many ways. She never let me win a fight. She was brash and could be rude. I wouldn't have it any other way. She had strawberry blonde hair and her blue eyes were a bit misty.

"Hey, now! Don't be getting all mushy on me," I laughed. I got her to smile. I hugged her even closer.

"Just try not to get hurt… If something were to happen to you… Well it wouldn't be good…"

"As long as you're here waiting, I'll be back." She smiled even bigger and we kissed again. Our time was up. The Peacekeepers came in and tapped me on the shoulder. I let her go and followed them out. I was going to win, no doubt about it.

**What did you think? Please review, even if your tribute is not a district one tribute. Btw, here is one of my rules. If you never review your tribute probably won't live. I don't really try to do it but it actually happens. I get uninspired since I assume you're not reading, I give up on your character, and they die :P so on that lovely note, review haha **

**Also, still need District Four male. You may submit another one and whoever I like best wins haha not that it is a competition :D**


	3. District Two Reapings

**District Two:**

**Saturn's POV:**

I woke up to screaming and shoved a pillow on top of my head. My mother really needed to learn to shut up. Or my dad needed to get a gag. I finally forced myself out of bed and jumped into the shower. Today was Reaping day. I had to look my best, in case it happened. I didn't plan on volunteering, but I was ready for being reaped. If I got reaped then I would have enough training under my belt to be a Career, no problem.

I walked into the hallway to hear my mother's screams getting louder. I just rolled my eyes. Now, don't get me wrong, I loved my mother, but when every day you woke up to pure craziness, it got a little old. Especially when your idiot of a father had affairs, in our home, while my mother was here.

What kind of sick man would do that? Oh yeah, my father.

I walked downstairs to the kitchen. I started making some eggs for my mother and I. She finally stopped screaming and came downstairs.

"Good morning, mother." She smiled at me.

"Why, good morning Rowan."

I just smiled and went back to cooking. You see, the reason she was so nuts was because she saw my uncle Rowan die right in front of her. I was there too, but I was too young to remember. Ever since then she hasn't been, well, sane, and she doesn't recognize me. She thinks I'm him. Well, from the photographs I've seen that we both look alike. We both had black-gray hair and those bright red lips. We also both had dark amber eyes. The only real difference from when he was eighteen was that he was quite a bit tanner. I'm quite pale.

"How did you sleep?" I asked.

"I slept fairly well," she said dreamily, "except I had the strangest dream about the Peacekeepers chasing us… So strange…"

I just kept cooking. She tended to ramble a lot. I separated the eggs and set them down. We ate in silence. We didn't tend to talk a lot because she would get confused. My father entered the room, but I didn't look up. This man was insane. I was so glad that a few weeks after my last reaping, which was today, I could move out. Except I didn't want to leave my mother alone with this…thing.

I looked at the clock and gave my mother a huge hug. I walked out the door and went into the streets. I had to find Constantine. She was probably the closest person to me. You see, I knew I was a screwed up person. However, I tended to act like everything was okay. Most people thought of me as quiet and shy, never would hurt a fly. They were so wrong. Let's just say one time one of my father's mistresses took a tumble down the stairs…

Everyone bought my act, except her. She always seemed to know when something was wrong, and wouldn't stop badgering me about it until I told her. She did the impossible. She got me to trust her. I've told her a few things about myself; how I kind of sometimes like seeing things in pain. She always takes it quite well.

I saw her bright blonde hair bob through the crowd. Not a lot of people had blonde hair in District Two, which made her easy to spot.

"Constantine," I yelled. She looked at me and a smile spread across her face. She ran up to me and gave me a huge hug.

"Well, doesn't someone look spiffy today," she giggled. I looked down at myself. I was just wearing a blue, silk shirt and black slacks.

"Yes, you look fabulous." She giggled again and grabbed my arm. She started tugging me towards the Reapings. She didn't want to be late. Not because she liked the Hunger Games. It was because she was always punctual. I had never seen her go somewhere and be a minute late. We made it to the Reapings and she seemed kind of nervous. It was both our last year's so it was a good thing we were nervous…right?

I see Mayor Cynthia mount the stage, along with her guards. For some reason she always seemed to think someone was out to assassinate her. What an idiot. She gave her speech and I kind of ignored it. I've heard it so many times it was ingrained in my brain. The jist of it was that the rebels were idiots and that's why we're punished every year. The only difference is that she talked so slow that it took forever. She had some obsession with pronouncing every word and then every letter within the word.

Then our escort, Sparkler, came onto the stage. I remembered a few years ago when she called out the names of the 223rd Tributes. That was the last year we had volunteers. Last year there was none…ever since we had a new Gamemaker the districts had been a little wary about volunteers. Even the Career Districts were a bit scared. It was insane. I wouldn't be surprised if someone from this district or district one volunteered. People could be so arrogant.

"Saturn Everett!"

I felt my face pale. Then I quickly turned it into an amused expression. I felt a little amusement, but I still had to force it onto my face. It was a good time to have some fun, but what if I died? That would put a damper on, well, my life.

Sparkler asked for volunteers and silence was her answer. Of course, I saw my mother's shocked expression in the audience. I didn't know what was racing through her mind, but it wasn't good.

"Time for the girl!" she shouted. She dug her fake nails into the ball and drew out a slip.

"Isis Robertson!"

Oh gosh. This was going to be…fun.

I saw Isis' dark brown hair bob through the audience. She had the typical District Two olive skin tone and brown hair. However, she had bright green eyes. She was pretty, but it wasn't exactly her body that made her pretty. People found her pretty because of her spirit. Now, I found her annoying, but we were talking about other people.

She was a very flirty girl. She dated…well…everyone. Older men, younger men, _really_ older men. She wasn't exactly a slut, but she acted like it. Plus, it was always about her. If you ever talked to her, good luck finding a way to talk about anything that didn't involve her in some way.

This, ladies and gentlemen, was my district partner. The girl had to spend the last days of my life with. Of course, I could win, but first I would have to survive her…

**Isis' POV:**

"Brielle, be honest with me… Did my hair look okay?" Brielle just looked at me like I was an imbecile for caring about what my hair looked like when I was just reaped! What else would I care about? All of Panem just _saw_ me! What if my hair or makeup wasn't perfect? It would have ruined everything!

"It was fine, darling, but _please_ focus on something besides your hair for a second." Brielle was in tears and I tried to get out of my little bubble. I tended to be a bit self absorbed…at least, that's what people told me. I liked to think of it as pampering myself!

I patted Brielle on the back while silent tears went down her face. I didn't know why she was freaking out! She knew I had been training for this! Of course, I would have liked to wait until I was eighteen instead of sixteen, but whatever.

"I just can't believe my baby is going into the Hunger Games… I was hoping this day would never come…" I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. I loved this woman, but she could be such a drama queen sometimes! Of course this day would come!

Brielle was my nanny and she had raised me since birth. My parents haven't really been around. They had been too busy planning social events and such. They only showed up when I was doing something that could help their reputation. They were a bit socially obsessed.

Brielle was the closest person to me. I had a ton of friends, but I couldn't trust them like I trusted Brielle. I was like a daughter to her. She couldn't have children of her own so she kind of adopted me unofficially.

"Just promise me you'll try to come back. Promise me you'll take care of yourself. Promise me you'll not let a broken nail get you killed!"

I just laughed, "I promise I'll win. I promise I'll take care of myself! I mean, when don't I take care of myself! I also promise to not let a broken nail come between victory and me!"

Brielle just laughed and hugged me in one of those huge hugs. I hugged her back and ushered her out. I had to at least try to come up with some strategy. Of course, fate distracted me again when my good friends Kara, Wendy, Jack, and Will walked in. They all came and hugged me.

Will congratulated me, Jack acted all shy, Kara jumped up and down screaming, and Wendy gave me advice. After a very heartfelt (on their end) goodbye, they left. I sat down and tried to come up with a strategy before the Peacekeepers came and took me to the train.

First things first, what did I think of my district partner. Well, he was rich, kind of handsome, and seemed to have a brain. Probably not a bad ally to have. Of course I would be in the Career alliance. I trained a little! I knew how to fight!

Now I had to come to the old as time question for female careers. Would I try to flirt my way into a male careers heart? I've seen it go extremely well and extremely bad. One time a girl from district two flirted her way into a male careers heart and he protected her until he died. She even won! Of course, if the Career had a girlfriend or you didn't do it right, he would get annoyed and kill you as soon as possible.

Well, I could try, but I probably wouldn't get far with Saturn. He seemed smarter than the average male career. I looked down at my token. It was a heart necklace Brielle gave me a long time ago. It said "Believe in Yourself" in Latin. I was proud to wear it.

Oh gosh, I got distracted again! Oh yeah, what could the Quarter Quell be? That's what I was the most nervous about. I've heard of some pretty gruesome ones before, and I hoped I wasn't in one of those.

"Ma'am, your time is up."

Six Peacekeepers marched in. Two of them grabbed either side of me.

"WAIT, WAIT, WAAAAAIIIIITTTTT!" They dropped my arm in shock. I skipped over to the mirror and fixed my hair. I also made sure my dress looked great and that my makeup was still perfect.

"All right, we are good to go!" I gave them all a huge smile. They looked at me as if I was crazy.

"I was just making sure I didn't look like an idiot!" I kept my big smile up.

"Look's like she failed at doing that," I heard someone snicker. I turned around to see a young man whispering into another Peacekeepers ear.

I felt my smile leave my face. I just glared at him until he noticed.

"Would you like to say that a little louder? It's not polite to mumble."

"I just thought it was a little foolish to care so much about your hair, that's all Ma'am."

I walked right up to him and got right in his face. "No, you said I was an idiot. You made a _huge_ mistake," I drew my fist back quickly and smashed it into his face. I heard a crunch and a few cracks. He fell backwards into the other Peacekeeper and they both fell into a glass bureau. They both laid there, unconscious and bleeding.

"Anyone else have anything to say," I hissed. Silence was their response, "Good! Now, let's head to that train!"

**Oh gosh, so here is the district two Reapings! Please tell me what you think about both tributes because I tried to portray them well but I might have failed. Yeah we don't really have the average careers so far, do we? haha!**

** So please review because reviewing makes me happy/update faster!**


	4. District Three Reapings

**District Three:**

**Hali's POV:**

"Hali, come on! Wake up." I sprung out of bed. I was usually an early riser…perhaps I was trying to distance myself away from this day. I looked at my eight year old brother, Ben.

"Thanks, Benji," I said. I scrunched up his hair on the way to the bathroom. He hated it when I called him Benji. It apparently made him feel "childish".

I quickly cleaned myself and got dressed. I was wearing my regular Reaping dress. It was just a knee length blue one. It was so old the color was faded and my mom had to stitch it up a few times. I looked at myself in the mirror. I was one of the most unattractive fourteen year olds. I was just so boring to look at! I had brown hair, and brown eyes. I also had glasses that took up a good portion of my face, which wasn't anything to look at anyways.

I quickly put my hair into a messy bun and slipped my shoes on. I went downstairs and greeted my family. I gave my mom a peck on the cheek, my father a hug, and my brother a pat on the head. I grabbed the nearest book and started reading it. All I really did was read books. That, and played chess with my brother. I was still better than him but he was steadily getting better.

This book was about how to construct an electric wire out of simple components. I had already read it but I needed to keep my mind busy. Otherwise I would be worry about today nonstop. My mom put down a piece of bread and I ate it quickly. We weren't the richest people in district three. We weren't dirt poor either, but we never had the biggest meals.

"Now, before you go, remember to not take any detours to Reaping today." My father chastised. Lately I had been getting in trouble with the authorities. I didn't mean too…I was just trying to help…

"I won't dad." I got up and slipped out the door. I began walking and my mind started wandering. I wasn't exactly popular in this district. The kids at school thought I was a complete idiot and psycho, while the adults didn't like me for getting in trouble.

"Hali! Hey, wait up!" I turned around to see Linny. Linny was one of the closest people I had to calling a friend. She was super sweet to me and we did things together. Of course, I sometimes got in trouble with her, but she was still super nice!

"Hey, my friend borrowed my shoes and I need them super bad to go with this dress! Would you mind coming with me to get them?"

"Uhm…I guess if you really want me to come," She nodded her head vigorously and pulled me along. I followed her against the crowd heading to the town center. We kept walking and went through many alleys.

"Okay, so they are in her room. Would you mind climbing through the window and getting them for me?" I just looked at her with a confused look on my face.

"Why can't we knock and ask for them?" I asked.

"She's not home and the doors most likely locked." I stood and listened. I heard noises from coming inside.

"Are you sure no one's home…maybe we could just go check…"

"Well, I guess we can…but if you were my _real_ friend you would do this one thing for me." I tried to process this. Last time I did a little favor for her I broke a door and had to pay for it. However, she was my friend and pretty much my only one…

"All right, hold on a second." I climbed through the open window and stepped into the dark room.

"They are in the closet," I heard Linny whisper, "The pink sparkly ones."

I walked to the closet and opened it. I tried to go through it without moving anything, but it was difficult. I finally found the ones she was talking about and froze. Daphine had a pair of shoes just like this…and Linny hated her. No way would Linny let Dapine borrow her shoes or vice versa. Right when I was about to set them down and go question Linny a light turned on.

"What _are_ you doing," I looked towards the door and Daphine was standing there. She looked pissed and then she was the shoes in my hand.

"THIEF!" She screamed. I gasped and dropped the shoes. I ran through the window and looked for Linny. Of course she would be gone! I heard Daphine shrieking and started running. I kept running and I could hear that Daphine was chasing me.

This was just great. I kept running. Then the Peacekeepers came. They left me with only one path to take and I ran down it. I heard about three or four peacekeepers behind me, along with the wails of Daphine. Couldn't she just be a little quieter? Of course, I knew what it looked like. I was standing in her room and holding her shoes.

I was finally starting to realize maybe Linny wasn't that good of a friend.

I ran right into the town center. I tried to hide in the crowd but the Peacekeepers spotted me. They grabbed my arms and started to drag me.

"Hali Wartler!" I froze. The voice had come from the microphone. The person that was talking was our escort, Markus. I had just been reaped. The Peacekeepers dropped me and I fell on my butt. I quickly got up and brushed the dirt off my dress. I walked to the stage and felt like I was going to pass out. I made it to the steps and then my mind took a new turn.

Would people finally start to notice me? Would they support me and hope that I would win? Only time would tell, I guess…

I took my spot on stage while our escort asked for any volunteers. There were no volunteers, as usual. Markus' hand went towards the boy's ball.

"Roy Fagin!" I saw a little boy start to come towards the stage. Poor young guy…

"I volunteer!" I heard a collective gasp from everyone. A huge boy strutted towards the stage. I didn't know his name, but he was a bit infamous here. There were rumors he actually trained like a career! He was big enough for it to be true.

"What's your name, sonny?" I heard Markus ask.

"My names Solder Hemsworth." The ceremony ended and we shook hands. He was a lot bigger than me. He had short, dark brown hair. He also had very dark brown eyes. His skin was very dark in color and I gulped. I didn't trust this guy one bit. It was more likely that he would crush my hand rather than shake it.

As we walked to the Justice Building, one thought ran through my head. I can't run away from this problem…not for very long anyways…

**Solder's POV:**

I strolled into the Justice Building. This would be too easy! There was no way I wasn't going to win! If all my competition was like my puny district partner I could win on day three no problem! The Peacekeepers practically shoved me into my waiting room. Gosh, they would pay for that when I was victor.

I sat down. This was going to be a long hour. No one was going to visit me. Both my parents were far too busy with work, but we had our goodbyes before the Reapings. My mother gave me a huge hug and my father patted me on the back. I loved my mother dearly, as she loved me. My father and I had an interesting relationship. I loved him, but he was never around. He was just always so busy. He ran one of the main manufacturing companies, which meant he was there practically day and night.

However, because of it I have always had a roof over my head, food on the table, and weapons to train with. I didn't go to school that long. I dropped out and started training a ton. I've always wanted to win the Hunger Games. It has been a dream of mine! Now, I probably wasn't as good as the real Careers, but the other district had better watch their backs. I sighed and started looking around the room.

I had to keep my hands busy when I strategized, otherwise I would get distracted. You would think it would be the other way around, but it really wasn't. I would never understand how some people couldn't multi-task.

I could try the whole "slaughter everyone" plan, but would that really work? Perhaps I could join up with the actual careers….but even that plan was risky. What plan would work best for me? I knew how to fight. Perhaps I could ally myself with someone who knew a lot about surviving…

There was another option. Fight my way to the Cornucopia, fight off the other tributes, grab what I wanted, and skid daddle.

I started rubbing my temples. It was so hard to decide sometimes! Any choice I made could either be the savior or the destruction of my life! Maybe my mentors would know more. I looked out the window. Here we were in poor district three. Families were down there celebrating that their children had one more year to live. I just didn't fully grasp what was so wrong with these games. Kids died monthly from working in factories here. Their hair may get caught in a machine, which would then snap their neck! They could get their arm crushed and bleed to death.

Was it really any worse to get pampered for a week and then possibly die? Then, if you didn't die, get to live in luxury? It really wasn't that bad of a bargain. I would much rather go to the Hunger Games then die by some stupid machine accident.

I raked my hands through my short hair. When would this hour be over! I needed to get out of here and move! This was ridiculous! I started tapping my foot and, eventually, pacing furiously. Finally, the peacekeepers came. They roughly grabbed on to both of my arms and led me away.

I walked out of the Justice Building to the blinding flash of cameras. Did they really need a million pictures of every tribute! I spotted my district partner, Hali, and internally laughed. There was no way this girl was going to make it past the bloodbath! Of course, she did have a weird run in with the Peacekeepers before the Reaping…perhaps there was more to her than met the eye. Maybe not…maybe she was trying to avoid the Reapings and they chased her here. Who really knows, except her? There was always more to every tribute than met the eye…

**Okay, I know it's pretty short, but let me explain. I'm going on a vacation for eight days so I have no time to write. This is my last night writing for eight days. Also, this entire week I have been super busy cleaning and preparing, so I typed this up and I hope it's good. I did a bit different pre-reaping event, and I hope you all enjoyed it! So please review and be here when I get back! Thanks so much, Europa! **

**P.S. I am putting up a small poll on my profile so vote on that too! It's just something for me to see when I get back! Plus, I do that at the end when all of the Reapings are done, so yeah jut vote haha **


	5. District Four Reapings

**District Four:**

**Rapid's POV:**

"Come ON, Rapids! Time to wake UP!" I heard Wave yell.

"Shut the whale up before I come out there and pound you into the wood floor!" I screamed. For emphasis, I threw one of the candle stick holders at the door. I heard a yelp and I grinned. Served her right!

I quickly dressed and glanced in the mirror. I wasn't very presentable, but when did I have to be? I was only around my family. We ran a family run deep sea fishing industry. All of us kids, cousins and siblings, helped. We only came into port a few times a year and one of those times was for the Reapings.

My hair was short, black and choppy. It didn't look good at all because whenever it got to long I would just chop it off. I could see the anger in my brown eyes. I wasn't a "happy" person. I never seemed to get enough sleep and that just made me cranky. Then, when I had the opportunity, I could never fall asleep! The only way I was ever optimistic was if I had a good night's sleep or plenty of good coffee. Ten packets of sugar, no more and no less, otherwise you would be dead meat!

I went into the main part of our boat and started the meals. My jobs on the ship were making nets, helping gut the fish, cooking, and accounting. Yes, I said accounting. Someone around here had to be the smart one, and it certainly wasn't one of my cousins! I loved them, but they seriously needed to find a brain somewhere.

I finished and passed out the food. Everyone at quickly. We were running a bit behind schedule, which sucked. It meant I wouldn't have enough time for coffee! Gosh darn it; this was all Wave's fault! If she would have just woke me up earlier!

Even though I constantly picked on Wave, she was one of my best friends. She was a bit too dainty and girly, but she was a sailor at heart. She had just turned thirteen, so she was now two years younger than me. I glanced at my mother. She was another one of my favorite people. She was always nice to me, even when I wasn't nice back. Of course, we were exact opposites. Personality wise, and physically. She had long blonde hair and blue eyes.

She had come to the ship last night when we docked. She got sick very often so she had to stay on land a lot. We were very close even though we didn't spend a lot of time together.

"Come on, Droplet, let's go," my mother said. I rolled my eyes at her. She was the only person who still called me by my birth name. A long time ago, my cousins said I was too aggressive to have such a dainty name as Droplet. They called me Rapids and everyone else started to as well. Except my mother. She could be so stubborn sometimes!

I stepped out onto the dock and breathed in the fresh air. I loved the sea salt air! The hot sand! The calming sound of the ocean waves lapping against the shore. It was all so beautiful and breathtaking! I kept up with my family and my mind began to wander.

I didn't know a lot about the Hunger Games, or even the districts. I was fairly sheltered since I was never really on land. The only thing I knew about the Hunger Games was people died. Our family was exempt from watching them since the Capital needed our deep sea fish so much. I had never watched it, but I didn't really want too. The only time our family had watched it was when a cousin of mine was reaped when I was four. I don't remember it, but my family said that if a family member was ever in the Hunger Games they stayed in port and watched. The only part of the Hunger Games I really noticed and took interest in was the Victors. They seemed so glamorous! I loved sailing, but it wouldn't be terrible to live in luxury for awhile.

I kept walking. If anyone in my family was fit for the Hunger Games, they would say it was me. I could be vicious, cruel, and I seemed to get into fist fights a lot. Not with my family, but when we docked. Some kid would make fun of my family or I and I would lose it. I tried not to, but my brain didn't always work. Especially when I didn't get my coffee.

We kept walking and I sighed. I always stood out and looked so ugly at Reapings. Most people in this District had enough cash to clothe their children well for Reaping Days. My family did too, but we never had time to shop. We were always on the move. I had never once stopped and settled down. I was always at sea fishing. Following the current, never creating my own. Sometimes I felt like a droplet, doing nothing, instead of a rapid that changed the tide.

We made it to the Reaping and we all split up. I was the eldest of the children, fifteen, so I was by myself. I stood in the middle and tried to block everyone out. My mood kept changing from uncomfortable to pissed off. I looked at the stage and sighed. Mayor Aquamarine was standing there in all her glory. She thought she was all that, but she really wasn't.

Our escort was bubbly and annoying as always. I wanted to punch her so badly. Did she ever stop smiling? Then there were the mentors for this year. For awhile it had always been Crescent and her twin brother, Sonny. However, this year it was different. A few months ago Sonny died from some sort of disease. So the new male mentor would be the latest victor, Ethan. I could still see the sadness and, what appeared to be, guilt in Crescent's eyes.

Ethan still looked sad too, but he had something to hold on to in his life. He had Alicia. I tried to find her in the crowd, but to no avail. I looked up at Ethan, with his short brown hair and bright blue eyes. I was truly happy for him. Alicia was busting at the seam by now. Hopefully she wouldn't give birth to their first born while he was gone.

Our Mayor started her speech and I zoned out. Then I picked up the smallest whisper.

"Ugh, it's that bitch again," I turned around and saw who was talking. Of course it would be Wally Montgomery. I hated this kid. I had never really talked to him, but I had beaten him up twice now. Once for insulting my eyes and the second for insulting my cousin. He apparently didn't ever learn from his mistakes.

"What did you just call me," I seethed. He picked the wrong day to mess with me.

"N-n-othing," he stuttered.

"He called you a bitch," his fried said bluntly.

"Shut up Peter!" he groaned. That's when I made a very rash choice.

I leapt at him and tackled him to the ground. I started punching him and he was squealing. I didn't stop until I felt strong arms latch onto me. I fought against them and they finally got me off of Wally. He scrambled away and looked shocked. I finally noticed everyone was looking at me, including the cameras. They weren't protecting Wally. They were trying to get me to the stage. I had just been reaped.

"Let me go! I can get there myself!" I growled. They dropped me and I stormed up to the stage. I glared at our escort and she cringed away. Mayor Aquamarine looked horrified, while my future mentors looked at me with interest. I just glared at everyone. This wasn't fair! I shouldn't be up here! I had a life! I loved fishing and that was my true love! I had barely any clue what the Hunger Games were! How was I supposed to win!

They asked for volunteers and, of course, no one did. That stupid Head Gamemaker, Lavender, scared them all away! Even I had heard about how she made last year's games torturous for the tributes! Then I heard the name of the next tribute and I felt my insides curdle.

"Charlie Montgomery!" I wanted to barf. My district partner was the cousin of stupid Wally! You see, Wally thought he was all that because his uncle had won the Hunger Games. He lived in luxury with his entire extended family and was a jerk! How could his cousin, Charlie, be any different?

He walked up to the stage and I was even a bit intimidated. He was eighteen, for sure, and huge! I could see how sad he was and heard crying from someone in the audience. I glanced and found the source of the noise. Some girl. Probably his girlfriend. Well it sucks for her, doesn't it? She can just deal with it. That was my motto. Just suck it up, deal with it, and move on. At least, that was my motto when I was in a bad mood. We shook hands and I glared into his green eyes. He had better not cross me otherwise he would end up just like little Wally.

**Charlie's POV:**

I walked into the Justice Building with a heavy heart. How could I have been reaped? I stepped into the room and almost started crying. This couldn't have been happening! I had never wanted to be in the Hunger Games! I had a nice life, and even if I didn't I had Claire!

I guessed this would solve my family's problems. Ever since my uncle had gotten sick and started dying, my family had been trying to find a solution to it. If he died, then we would be kicked out of his house and have nowhere to go. Now, if I won, they would have somewhere to crash. I didn't want to win, though. I wanted to marry Claire, the love of my life. She was my fiancée and our wedding was in three weeks! Just three weeks! I never even expected to be reaped, but here I was…

My mother and father entered. I did like them a lot. They just could be a bit self absorbed sometimes. They were better than the rest of my family! The rest of them were snobs! Every aunt, uncle, and cousin! My mother hugged me.

"The others wanted us to tell you good bye," she whispered. They wouldn't even come see me off. Typical.

"Win this, son," was all my father said. He left and I kept hugging my mother. Finally, she left, knowing I'd need time for Claire.

Claire entered and I embraced her. I stroked her blonde hair as she cried. I ran a hand through my shaggy, sandy hair. Were we even going to be able to talk, or just cry the entire time? She kissed me.

"You are coming back, whether you like it or not!" she whispered.

"Of course I'm coming back, silly girl." We kept hugging and kissing. Our time was cut short by the guards. They started dragging her out and she threw something at me. I looked at it and saw it was her engagement ring. I held it close. It would be my token, no doubt about it. I walked out of the room with Peacekeeper escorts. I saw Droplet and she was glaring at me.

What did I ever do to her? I had never even met her and she already hated me! This really wasn't going well. Of course, if things were going well I would not have been reaped and would be alive for my wedding in three weeks…

**Tell me what you think of it! Your reviews mean more to me than you know! Tell me what you think of the tribute especially! **

**Sorry I haven't updated in awhile, but I might not be able to for awhile again. I have a super busy week, full of papers, tests, and summer school. I know, life's hard :P **

**So yeah, review and I promise I'll try to update as soon as possible!**


	6. District Five Reapings

**District Five:**

**Neal's POV:**

Left strike … Lunge... Left strike… Right strike… Lunge … Right strike…

"Neal, stop it and go take a shower! Otherwise, I will come down there with a bucket and soap and scrub you from head to toe! I know you won't enjoy that!" I shivered, since I knew she wasn't kidding. I stopped punching the dummy and wiped the sweat from my brow. Right now, I was in my basement practicing. I liked boxing a lot. It helped me get out a lot of my frustration.

"Just a minute, mom. I'll be right up!" I quickly cleaned up. This room was also the wine cellar and nothing made my mother madder than coming down here to get a bottle of wine and seeing a puddle of sweat.

"Fifty-nine…fifty-eight…fifty-seven…" I rolled my eyes. I wasn't five anymore! I ran up the stairs. My mom smiled and kept cooking. I gave her a big, sweaty hug to get back at her. She squealed and hit me as hard as she could.

"Shower. NOW!" I laughed it off and went up the stairs. My mom could be such a girl sometimes! I hopped into the shower and washed as quickly as possible. Today was Reaping Day, and I just wanted to get it over with. It was my last one and, after that, I had my entire life ahead of me. I would never have to worry about getting reaped again! I went into my bedroom and quickly changed into khaki pants and a blue polo. I could have dressed nicer, but I really didn't want to. The quicker I dressed the quicker it would be over.

I walked out of my room and shut the door. I felt bad for the kids who had nothing to wear for Reaping Day. I always had something to wear…my father was pretty rich, which made me rich by association. It was nice getting what I wanted, but I never really wanted a lot. I just wanted a loving family, food to eat, one or two outfits to wear, and a roof over my head. What more could I ask for?

"Big brother! Wait up!"

I turned around to see my little sister, Hali, running towards me. I picked her up and put her on my shoulders. She was eleven, and a bit too old for this, but I did it anyways. We had the same brown hair, but different eyes. Hers were blue, while mine were auburn. I was the typical district five kid. I had brown hair, brown eyes, but pale skin. Of course, I still didn't blend in.

Most people avoided me because I had an interest in boxing. They thought I was a career. That's another reason I was excited for the Reapings to be over. They would finally realize I wasn't a career and treat me like one of them. I only had one best friend, Leon, and a girlfriend, ReeRee. I also had my family, but sometimes I needed someone besides them to talk to!

I set Hali down on at the dinner table and sat down as well. My dad, John, was sitting as well. My mom served us all up and we ate our fill. We never had to worry about food either. It was a pretty good life, if I did say so myself.

"All right, I'm going to go meet up with my friends. See you after the Reapings," I gave them all hugs. I felt bad for my sister. She had no idea what was going on. My parents sheltered her as much as possible. I didn't think that was a good idea, but whatever…

I went outside and started jogging. I eventually made it to our normal meeting place and they were waiting.

"You are always so slow," Leon laughed, "if you were being chased by a turtle you would be the one to lose," I lightly punched him in the arm and gave ReeRee a quick kiss.

We started walking towards the center, talking and laughing. We never liked to think about what Reaping day had in store for us. We finally made it and split up. ReeRee was a year younger than us. Leon and I stood towards the front so we had air to breathe. We kept talking and laughing until the Mayor started his speech. I listened out of respect. It was about how the first rebellion failed and the Capital was all supreme. We get it. Did they always need to rub in our faces how much we sucked?

I scanned through who the mentors were. They were always the same because we only had two living victors. Memory, who had won a few years ago, and Felix. Memory was petite and pale, but had bright red hair. It was quite unusual for someone to had red hair in this district. Felix was huge and had pale skin and dark brown hair. They complimented each other quite nicely. She was the brains and he was the brawns.

Our escort walked to the ball and dug around for the girl tributes name. He didn't even try to make it suspenseful. Wow, that was a first.

"Paloma Moretti!" I heard a gasp and then a grunt. I looked to my right to see a dark skinned and dark haired girl mount the stage. She didn't look angry, but really annoyed. Just like something came up that ruined something that you were planning to do. She was short, probably around five feet, but seemed to make up for it in her temper. He asked for any volunteers and no one volunteered. What a shocker.

He dug around for the boys name and I closed my eyes. It wouldn't be me…it couldn't be me…

"Neal Dawson!"

It was me.

I put on my best smile and walked to the stage. I could win…right? I knew how to box…I could fight my way to the top. Yeah, I had a chance. I stood proud and kept my smile up. Part of me wanted to cry, but I had to stay strong.

"Any volunteers"

"I volunteer!" I heard someone yell and I gulped. Oh gosh no.

Hali hobbled up to the stage. I heard people laughing and I tried to keep my smile up. She didn't know what she awes doing. I told my parent to not shelter her so much.

"Uh," the escort mumbled, "Sorry, you're a tad too young," he ushered her off the stage and continued the show. I shook hands with Paloma and gulped. I could tell right here and now we weren't going to be getting along. She wouldn't allow it.

**Paloma's POV:**

I couldn't believe that I was reaped! I could just…just kill someone! Why, why did this have to happen to me! It wasn't fair…it just wasn't fair! Of course, would it be any fairer for some fourteen year old to be reaped. At least I was seventeen and could handle it. Gosh, I hated the Capital!

I stepped into my waiting room and, well, waited. Someone would come see me! At least my family should! I sighed and did one of my least favorite things, thinking. My district partner didn't seem like a complete idiot, but you never knew. Of course, I doubted we would be allies anyways. All allies brought were agony, heartbreak, and frustration. Maybe a little more comfort and protection, but it wasn't worth the pain. I walked over the mirror and looked at myself. I wasn't pretty, but certainly wasn't ugly. I took my brown hair out of its pony tail and brushed my fingers through it.

It never listened to me. I quickly put it back up and walked away from the mirror. I wasn't really presentable for Reaping Day. I was just wearing black boots, jeans, and a red sweatshirt. It was pretty much what I wore every day. I was pretty poor. If I didn't die, then I wouldn't be. There was always a silver lining with Paloma!

I tried to think strategy, but my mind kept drawing a blank. I was never really a "plan" type of girl. I kind of made decisions on my emotions or just on what looked the best at the second. It wasn't the smartest way to live, but whoever said I was smart.

My first visitor was a bit of a surprise. It was Teegan, my only best friend. She was also one of my only ex best friends. She was super sweet, nice, and smart. Pretty much the opposite of me. Blonde and perky, she was loved by a lot of people. The reason we were best friends was because she lived so close by and, frankly, I couldn't help but like her. We used to say we balanced each other out. Yeah, that worked out so well. No big blow out happened, but she started hanging with all those other perky popular girls and forgot all about me…

I'm not going to lie, it hurt. It hurt a lot. What was I going to do? Go cry and emo my face off? No thanks!

"Hey," she mumbled.

"Hey," I said back icily. Then there was one of the most awkward silences of my life.

"So…you were reaped…" she murmured.

"Wow, took a genius to figure that one out," I replied. She looked me straight in the eye and I saw tears in hers. Oh great, here come the waterworks. She started crying and I hugged her and patted her back. Shouldn't this be switched around? Shouldn't I be the one who needs comforting?

Finally, when it was over, she said," Here take this." She threw something at me and left.

I picked it up and saw it was a pink, sparkly band for my pony tail. Did she really expect me to use this as my token? She should have known how much I hated pink and sparkles. I sighed and replaced my worn one with it. I had nothing better to use as my token, might as well humor her.

Next my parents came in and I run into their arms. They both were all ready crying and I couldn't help but start crying as well. I mean, they loved me and gave birth to me! How could I not cry when they were crying? They comforted me and left. It was a nice goodbye.

The next person who came in was the one person I was looking forward to the most. It was my older brother, Dario. He was twenty-two and already moved out of the house. He was my only sibling and we loved each other to death. We had the same dark, curly hair and the same olive skin. The only difference was that he was 5"6', had hazel eyes, and was a boy. The last one was the biggest difference.

He was trying not to cry and he hugged me.

"This shouldn't be happening," he whispered.

"But it is," I said bluntly.

"Just…just try to come back."

"I'll do better than try! I will come back!" We both laughed. One thing we were was survivors. Survivors with quick tempers, but survivors none the less.

"What's this all about," he asked, touching my new band.

"Don't ask. Let's just say I had a very awkward good bye with Teegan." We both laughed and made even more jokes. It was just like we were at home. Finally, the Peacekeepers came and he left. I followed after him and started towards the train. I had to make it home. For my brother, for my parents, for myself. I wasn't a quitter! I would just have to outwit, outfight, and outwin everyone! Easier said than done, huh?

**Review! Haha that's always my first word! Tell me what you think about these tributes! I like them, but I like all the tributes haha also, tell me your favorite color! I know that's a very odd request, but humor me! **


	7. District Six Reapings

**District Six:**

**Quince's POV:**

"Quincy, time to wake up," I looked at my sister and smiled. My ten year old sister, Piper, was standing by my bed side with a huge smile on her face. She had long brown hair and brown eyes. One of the sweetest little girls you'd ever meet.

"All right, hold on a minute…" I got out of bed and walked to the bath. We didn't own a shower, but most people in our district didn't. I quickly bathed in the dirty water, which you would think would ruin the purpose, and changed. I dried my close-cropped brown hair quickly and got away from the mirror as soon as possible. I didn't like looking at myself very often in the mirror…I wasn't the best looking person around. I personally found myself ugly…I was chubby, or as my mother said "heavyset", and I didn't have any good facial features.

"Quincy!" I heard my father yell, "Hurry up or we are going to be late!" I ran down the stairs and said good morning to both my parents. Then I grabbed a piece of toast and was out the door. I promised my friends, Leo and Fern, that I would meet up with them. I ran to the fence and waited.

Fern was the first one to show up. She was the one who was the most timid out of the three of us. She wanted to be a doctor when she was older and only came out with us to gather wild herbs. She had light brown hair and brown eyes.

"We really shouldn't be doing this…especially on Reaping Day…" I laughed and patted her on the back.

"It won't be that bad Fern. We are just going to check a few traps, gather some wild herbs…it's no big deal!" She sighed and nodded. Leo showed up next. He had black hair and bright blue eyes.

"Why are you so late, Leo," Fern scolded.

"I had to sneak away! My parents didn't want me out on Reaping Day! They said they didn't want me getting into any trouble." I gulped. This was exactly what we were doing. Getting into trouble.

"I'll go first," Leo grumbled. He started digging until he made a good sized hole. He slipped underneath and Fern quickly followed. I embarrassingly dug it deeper. I wasn't as small as either of them. I finally made it under and we walked deeper into the forest. Fern collected roots, herbs, and berries. I found the first trap and checked it. Nothing yet.

District Six was a very boring place if you didn't find first aid interesting. Leo didn't either so he and I took an interest in traps. It was illegal of course, but Leo didn't care. I cared a lot and Fern cared even more than me. For some reason though we followed Leo. He was a natural leader and we couldn't help following him. That and we would feel terrible if something happened to him.

"Hey, I got something," he yelled.

"Shush, Leo! Someone could hear you!" Fern said.

"No they couldn't," he said, "HEY WORLD LOOKIE HERE! JUST THREE FOURTEEN YEAR OLD KIDS ILLEGALLY TRAPPING! COME AND GET US IF YOU CAN!" he practically screamed.

"That's enough Leo," I replied. Fern looked like she was going to murder Leo and Leo was just laughing at her.

"Just show us what you got," I said as calmly as possible.

"A big, fat, juicy squirrel!" He beamed. We looked at the sad rodent. It fell into one of my traps where you tripped a wire and it launched a wooden stake. Poor little squirrel.

We collected the rest of our prizes. Three squirrels and a hare. Pretty good catches. We would be able to eat these after the Reapings. We walked back and quickly snuck under the fence. We hid our catches in an empty barrel and hurried to the Reapings. Our clothes weren't too messy.

We made it and went into our section. As soon as we settled our Mayor went and made the speech. I almost fell asleep, but stupid Singing Rain had to ruin it all.

"Hello District Six! How are you all doing?" silence was her answer. No one really liked her. She was all peppy and optimistic. She would have been great for a Career District, but she wasn't a good match for us. We would all be glad once she was gone. I looked at our one mentor. Her name was Naomi Picou. She was always so sad, and for good reason. She was reaped with her brother and they made it to the end. He killed himself before she could kill herself, making her the victor.

She dug in the girls' ball and drew out someone's death sentence.

"Abby Parker!"

I heard the scuffling of feet and looked over. A girl emerged from the fifteen year old girl section. I had never really seen her around before. She had shoulder length brown hair and looked really pale. The thing I noticed most about her was she was literally hobbling. She had some really weird limp thing going on with her left leg. When she turned to the audience, I could see tears in her grey eyes. Poor girl…it was really too bad.

Singing Rain asked for volunteers and there was no response. She dug around in the boys' ball and drew out a name.

"Quince Fisher!"

I stood frozen like a statue. This couldn't be happening to me. It just wasn't possible. Every year I had seen people leave our district and not come back, but I never thought I would be one of them.

I started moving and made it to the stage before I knew it. She called for volunteers and no one responded. I could see my family crying and I had to avert my eyes. If I kept looking at them I would start crying as well.

"These are your tributes for this Quarter Quell!"

**The Capital:**

**President Raven's POV:**

I shut off the live television feed. District Seven's Reapings would start in about five minutes so I had to make this quick.

"Lopunny, please send Mr. Loki in." I said. I heard my secretary's soft, sweet voice confirm he would be here in a matter of seconds.

I stared out the window and pursed my lip. Failure was not tolerated in my Capital. I heard the door open.

"Mr. Loki, please come in and sit down. Would you like something to drink?" I asked calmly.

"No thank you, Madam President," Raine Loki sputtered. Silence filled the room. I was waiting for him to speak first.

"Is there a reason I've been called," he mumbled.

"Did you happen to watch the District Six Reapings," I said icily.

"N-n-n-no," he stuttered.

"You know the plan Head Gamemaker Lavender and I thought up. We would rig the Reapings so that only the children of the richest and most influential people in each district were reaped. That way, the family business and legacy would be weakened, and then twice as weakened once the games started. You knew this plan, and yet, you failed to carry out your part. You were supposed to rig every single Reaping ball before it was sent out to each district."

"I'm-m so-" he interrupted.

I continued on, "District One was rigged and then the volunteers were even better than the children we picked. There hadn't been any volunteers thanks to Lavenders mutts and traps. Now I watch District Six and two _ordinary_ children are reaped. Not even one ordinary child and one rich child, but both completely normal that wouldn't harm any influential or powerful family. Now whose fault was that," I asked.

"I can fix it! I'll try harder!" he yelled.

"That's not going to cut it, Raine Loki. We will never require your services again." I turned my chair around suddenly and pulled out a pistol I kept hidden under my desk. I aimed and shot. His lifeless corpse slumped to the floor.

"Lopunny," I paged, "Please get an Avox and Head Gamemaker Lavender in here. I need to discuss thing with Lavender and Mr. Loki made quite a mess."

**District Six:**

**Abby's POV:**

I tried to not start hyperventilating. I was fifteen years old and was going into the Hunger Games. I could feel the mixture of fear and bile start to come up my throat. I swallowed both back down but I could still feel them there. I focused on one step after another. One step forward and then another step forward. Right and then left…right and then left…

I could feel the Peacekeepers eyes on me. They either wanted me to go faster or they pitied me. I assumed it was the first one. My stupid limb. It happened when I was younger. I was going to get my dad from one of the medical research labs. Right when I was outside, there was a huge explosion. The door flew out and shoved me against a brick wall. Ever since then I walk with a limp on my left leg. I could run just fine, but when I walked I was one of the slowest people on earth. My father wasn't so lucky. He was now deaf and had pretty bad eyesight.

I finally made it to my room and waited. The only people who would come visit me would be my mother, Theresa, my father, Mill, and my brother, Sam.

My father was a medical researcher who loved his work. My mother was a stay at home mother, and she cared very much for me. She was always saying how I needed to open up to people more. That if I opened up to people more I would have more friends.

My brother was one of my favorites. He was strong, courageous, and loyal. He was nineteen and had recently moved out on his own.

I heard the inevitable opening of the door and I turned around. My mother was standing there and I ran into her open arms. She was crying already and, of course, I started crying. My brother patted me on the back, while my father stood there with a sad look in his eyes.

"You need to come home to us," my mother whispered.

"I'll t-t-try," I stuttered. Another one of my terrible habits. I always stuttered. Unless I was yelling, but I never seemed to get angry. I just wasn't an angry person.

"You know I would fight in your place if I could, Squirt," my brother reassured.

"Of c-c-cour-rse I know that-t." I said shakily between sobs. We kept crying and all I could think of was that this was probably the last time I would see my family. This was probably the last time I would feel the warm embrace of my mother. This was probably the last time I would feel the reassurance of my brother. His was probably the last time I would see my father's caring face.

I looked at my father and he started signing to me. I learned all of the sign language so I could keep up conversations with my father. My mother and brother picked up on some of it, but they didn't know as much as me. He firsts asked me if I have the locket.

I looked down at it and hold it close to my heart. It had a picture of my father and me in it. The Peacekeepers come to take them away. As he is leaving he quickly signs to me that he loves me and will never forget me. The door shuts and my heart stops.

Never forget me.

He didn't say he would be praying for me, or that he would be cheering for me. He said he would never forget me. As if I would never come back. He had already come to the conclusion I would not be returning alive. I felt my heart break. If my father couldn't believe in me, how could I?

I stared down at the locket and was filled with a sudden anger. I would show him. I would come back, just to prove him wrong! He would see! I wasn't just his little girl! I may be the girl with a limp, but I would win these games!

**All right so a quick explanation for President Raven's POV! **

**So I got so many tributes who were either rich or had powerful parents, so I decided to make it part of the plot. The plot is that they rigged the Reapings so that kids who had rich and powerful parents were reaped. Like Rapids father runs a huge fishing industry, Charlie is the nephew of a victor, Isis is the daughter of a very powerful man and woman, Saturn is the son of a very rich man, and the list keeps going on. Look in every district! There is at least one kid who is from a rich, used to be rich, powerful, or influential family. The only district that didn't have one was District Six which is why I added the point of view from President Raven and the plot. It ties in with the Quarter Quell so maybe it can help you figure out what it is ;D**

**So, as always, review and tell me what you think of these two tributes! This was pretty difficult to write and I know it's not my best. For some reason I wasn't meshing with these tributes really well but I know I will get the hang of them eventually! So review!**


	8. District Seven Reapings

**District Seven:**

**Bree's POV:**

I awoke to feel the bright, warm sunshine streaming in through my window. I smiled and opened my eyes. One of the perks of living in District Seven was that it practically never rained. I loved the sunshine! It was always so uplifting and relaxing! Whenever I saw the sunshine I was lifted up and felt so happy on the inside.

I sprung out of bed and went to the mirror. My brown eyes stared back at me. I looked at my hair and groaned. You see, my hair and I always had a never ending struggle. It always got super frizzy and stuck out at odd angles. Now, normally I wouldn't mind this, but today was Reaping Day. I grabbed the brush and raked it through my shoulder length brown hair. There were a few times I was worried that the brush would break in my hair, but it eventually ran through and made my hair look semi-decent.

I quickly dressed into a knee length green dress and a black jacket. I put on some black pumps and went downstairs. I was fairly mature for my fifteen years of age. I was tan from being outside with my dad, muscled from swinging the axe so much for lumber, and was pretty tall from, well I guess puberty.

"Good morning, mom," I said briefly. I started to help with the cooking right away. We weren't the wealthiest family so I had gotten used to a lot of extra responsibility. I worked with my father lumbering for extra money, collected plants for eating and cooking, and I always helped with cooking. When you added school onto that I didn't have time for much else.

To add to the stress, my best friend Sarah and I were freaking out. It was a tradition in District Seven to get betrothed for marriage when you were sixteen. Now, not all the boys followed it but it was expected for all the girls too. In a few months I would have to be betrothed and I didn't want to be betrothed to a creep! Of course, you got to choose but if you couldn't find anyone you were screwed and a bit of a laughing stock.

Now, I didn't see why Sarah was freaking out! She was gorgeous! AS for me, I was a complete tomboy! Who would want to be betrothed to a girl like me! Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain through my finger.

"Darn it!" I yelled. My mother looked over and gasped. I got so distracted "thinking" I cut myself with the knife I was using to chop.

"There's a first aid kit in the bathroom," she said and went back to cooking. Thanks mom, love you too. I walked to the bathroom and started wrapping my finger up. My family and I had never been super close. Most of the time I felt like I was more of a labor slave than their child. I knew they loved me but they never really showed it.

I finished wrapping my finger and left the bathroom. My father had just gotten back from morning duty, which he usually didn't make me go along with him, and sat down. He just looked at my finger and went back to his very important task of staring at the table.

I sighed. At least he noticed…I was the kind of girl who always looked at the glass half full, unless the situation was dire. Such as if I was bleeding to death on the ground. I would most likely not be able to find a happy side to that. I sat down at the table because breakfast had just finished cooking. I ate it quickly and hopped out the door.

Sarah was waiting for me and we hugged each other. Sarah had shoulder length black hair and big brown eyes. She was also pale, a sign that you didn't work in District Seven. She was very quiet and sensible and I loved her dearly. Our personalities seemed to go very well together.

"Nervous?" I asked Sarah. She just chuckled.

"Of course I am. Who isn't?" she replied.

"The careers," I said jokingly. She just laughed and we started walking towards the center of town. We both lived pretty far away from it so it was going to take us awhile.

"Have you thought about who you are getting betrothed to yet?" I asked her jokingly.

She started giggling, as we girls did, "Of course I have, but not seriously! What about you?"

"Nope, not at all," I laughed. I had thought about the subject, but who was a different matter.

"Well, what about him," she asked. She jokingly pointed to the annoying kid in our geometry class. I started cackling.

"No way!" I quickly scanned the crowd for someone who Sarah would never be in a couple with. I spotted District Seven's very own rebel, Link Trat. He was tall, good looking, and had a giant tattoo on his arm of a partridge, with what looked to be links around it. He was really rebellious and seemed to always be living on the edge. He had short, spiky black hair and was fairly tan.

"But I could see you and Link together…forever," I giggled. Sarah blushed and slapped my arm. Link was seventeen and we were fifteen. She probably didn't like the undertone suggestion. We both stopped walking when he looked straight at us with his cold brown eyes.

"Not a chance," he said icily. I was so embarrassed he heard us kidding around. Of course, he didn't have to be so mean! I looked at Sarah. Her face was bright red and I could see hurt in her eyes. He was saying she wasn't good enough for him.

I felt the very uncommon anger start to build up inside me. No one hurt my friend and got away with it.

I went up to him and tapped him on the shoulder, "Excuse me? That wasn't very polite. We were just kidding around and you didn't have to be s-"

"Just stop before you embarrass yourself anymore," he said coldly.

I could feel my face turning red.

"Let's just go, Bree," Sarah said, tugging on my arm.

"No," I yelled, "Listen here, Link! You would be _lucky_ to have a girl like Sarah in your life! You'd be lucky to have any girl in your life though! From what I can see, there is none! So maybe you should lighten up, take a walk down reality, and apologize to my friend when you realize how stupid you are!" With that, I spun around on my heel and continued my walk to the town center.

"You really shouldn't have done that," Sarah whispered when she caught up. I just rolled my eyes. He got what was coming to him! The anger I felt slowly began to leave. I never got angry, but something about him rubbed me the wrong way. We made it to the center of the village and got into our section. We made it in just the nick of time for our Mayor to make his speech. We listened and then our escort, Michael, mounted the stage. He was a fairly normal guy, except he always tried to make us excited. We never followed his lead.

Michael dug around in the boys' ball for a name. One name.

"Link Trat," I felt my stomach drop. The only words I had ever said to this guy were mean words and now he was going to die. I felt just plain awful. Then the most ironic thing ever happened.

"Bree Sullivan!" Michael yelled.

I closed my eyes and counted to ten. I could handle this. At least, I could handle it in front of the cameras. Once I made it to the Justice Building I knew I would break down. I opened my eyes and put a huge smile on my face. I walked to the stage and smiled at the audience. I would be reaped with one of the only people I had ever been mean to.

As we walked off stage, only one thought came to mind. On the bright side, at least I won't have to worry about being betrothed anymore!

**Link's POV:**

"Hey, take it easy!" I grunted to the Peacekeepers. They just laughed and gripped tighter. The Peacekeepers and I weren't exactly friends. They didn't like me and I certainly didn't like them. Of course, they usually don't give me too much grief over stuff I do since they know my mom and I don't have the ideal life.

We used to be very rich. My father owned a highly successful lumber business and a shipping company with the Capital. Then he began drinking. One night, he went a little too far and went into a drunken rage. I came home from school to find my mother and sister beaten to near death. The Peacekeepers showed up after they heard me yell and had to kill my father because he was still in his rage. They managed to save my mom, but my sister wasn't so lucky.

She died and ever since then it was just my mother and I. We moved to a poorer part of the district and my mom had a sewing service. I would go in the woods and help with lumber to make money. I would also steal, hence the Peacekeepers not exactly enjoying me.

Then a year ago a traveling tattoo artist came into town the night our victor, Seamus "Streak" Alder, had his victory banquet. I got a tattoo of a partridge with links around it. The links were me and the partridge was her, since that was her name. I miss her every day.

The Peacekeepers shoved me into the room and slammed the door behind me. I sat down and waited for my mother to show up. She would have to come…she always was there when I needed her.

My mind wandered to that Bree girl. Something about her made me want to strangle her. It wasn't what she said, but it was how she said it. I didn't know, but she had better not cross my path again. Of course we would be reaped together! Someone had it out for us, that's for sure!

"Oh honey," I heard someone say. I looked over and say my mother standing there with tears in her eyes. She had the same dark brown, almost black, hair as me. However she had bright blue eyes…the same eyes Partridge had…

"It's okay mom," I said. I hugged her and we both started crying. I wasn't crying hard, but it still bothered me. I didn't like crying. It always made me feel bad and it never really fixed anything.

"I'll get home! I promise, mom," I whispered.

"Don't make promises that you can't keep. Your poor mom's heart can only take so much pressure before it breaks," she sobbed. I had to restrain myself from stating the obvious and saying it was already broken.

"All right mom…all right," I said as I stroked her hair in comfort. We stayed silent like that for awhile. Then the Peacekeepers marched in.

"Your times up," one of them said awkwardly. My mother slipped something into my hand. I looked at it and saw it was a carving I made of Partridge. I felt the tears coming back again and quickly brushed them away.

My mother left and waved good bye one last time to me. It took every ounce of my strength not to run after her. The Peacekeepers led me out and I tried to keep up my strong face. But I couldn't. Some things people shouldn't ever have to handle. The Hunger Games was one of them.

**Review! Haha please tell me what you think of the tributes and HOLY CRAPPERS! I would like to thank all of you for reading and reviewing because I have gotten so many hits and reviews are over a hundred! So thanks, guys! I wouldn't be doing this unless it was for you haha **


	9. District Eight Reapings

**A small author's note at the beginning this time. I got an overwhelming amount of messages/reviews saying that people liked how I added a random POV in that took it away from the normal tributes eyes. SO I added in another POV. Tell me what you think :D**

**District Eight:**

**Azalea's POV:**

I sighed as I opened my eyes. Today was Reaping day, the worst day of the year. It was the day two kids were sent to their death. It wasn't just…it wasn't right…but it was life. I got out of bed and walked to the mirror. I quickly combed my wavy, brown hair. It went a little past my shoulders…perhaps it was time for a trim…

I looked at the blue eyes staring right back at me. I went to my closet and rummaged through my clothes. I found a black dress and put it on. It suited my mood…

Usually I was a very happy person, but on Reaping Days I just got depressed. It wasn't a day to be chipper and happy. It was a day to mourn for the loss. Twenty-three precious lives…gone…just like that. I walked down the stairs to see my family. A smile spread across my face. They were always so sweet…I loved them so much.

We owned an apothecary, while my mother and I did sewing on the side. Between the two we made decent enough money. It also made us quite the hotspot, so we knew plenty of people. My father was the owner of it and I loved him dearly. Sometimes he could be a bit over protective, but I was used to it by now. My mother made the medicine for the pharmacy, so I picked up on a few things from her. She was pretty much an older version of me, except a lot quieter and less opinionated. Then there was my thirteen year old sister Rose. We all called her Rosie though, since she was one of the sweetest little flowers there was. I was worried sick since it was her first Reaping.

"Oh no, honey. You are not wearing that dreadfully dreary and old thing again," my mother reprimanded. I just rolled my eyes.

"What else should I wear then?" I asked.

"Here, follow me." She led me into her bedroom and shut the door.

"Now shut your eyes," she said. I closed them and she pulled my back dress off of me. Then she slipped something else over my head and I could feel something being tied around my waist.

"Open," she said. I did just that and was pleasantly surprised. It was a dark purple dress that had a light purple ribbon tied around it, creating a big bow on the back. I could tell this was hand sewn and must have taken my mother ages.

"Oh mom," I said tearfully. We hugged and walked back out to the breakfast table. I ate my breakfast quickly and then went out the door. I met with my friends a block or so away.

"Well don't you look snazzy," Henrietta gasped. I playfully strutted towards her and then regretted it. Eliot was standing right there and it just made things more awkward. He was giving me that look again. Henrietta and Eliot were my two best friends. I could tell either of them anything, but the awkward thing was that Eliot had a thing for me. He really liked me, but I really didn't feel the same way. He hadn't confessed it yet, but I could tell how sometimes he looked at me kind of like a piece of meat. I didn't appreciate it, but I put up with it since it was Eliot.

"Come on, let's make it to the town center before they start!" Henrietta said nervously. The Peacekeepers could be pretty hardcore here sometimes. Especially when it came to being on time. WE finally got the town center. At first, everything was normal. Then all hell broke loose.

**Mentor's POV:**

**Raylin's POV:**

I woke up and felt the bright sunshine on my face.

"Well, good morning Sunny!" I laughed gleefully. I turned to my lamp and shook its shade.

"And howdy doo to you too!" I said. My radio turned on and I picked up the lamp. WE both started twirling and around and had such a great time waltzing.

"Raylin," the Capital escort, Evergreen, said, "Come on! You don't want to be late!"

Of course I wanted to be late. However, I didn't really have a choice. She grabbed my arm and started dragging me. I was the last surviving mentor of District Eight. People said I was insane, but I really wasn't! I noticed how I was never left alone and how people gave me strange looks! I crazy person wouldn't notice that!

Evergreen sat me down on the coach. "I'll get you some oatmeal or something," she mumbled.

I stood up and started walking around the room. I greeted my clock and all the paintings on the wall. I was going to start on the furniture on the ground when Evergreen dragged me into the kitchen.

I stared into the oatmeal. It was so creamy looking. Then I started seeing pictures in it. My district partner, Miranda, bleeding out. The male career, Ignus, trying to kill me. His head flying off of his body.

"Stop," I mumbled. The pictures kept coming…the memories flowing…I grabbed the bowl and threw it on the floor. Evergreen screamed and ran out the backdoor. Stupid Capital girl! I started throwing dishes. I heard the dishes screams and pleas for mercy as I shattered them but I didn't listen. So maybe I was a little crazy…what was wrong with that?

That's when I heard it. It was a voice…it was faint, but it was a voice. I walked outside and found a flower. Instead of crushing it, I picked it and started singing to it. I was sitting there for a couple minutes when Head Peacekeeper Harry showed up.

"You need to get dressed." He ushered me into the house and up the stairs. As I was dressing, I heard something ring. I looked out the door and saw Harry pick something up.

"Yes, Lavender, everything is set…yes I made sure the ball was rigged…calm down it's only Raylin! He won't understand a word I say…"

But I did.

I heard about the entire conspiracy…the entire plan!

I heard about the Quarter Quell! I heard about the arena and how it would drive the tributes mad. I heard it all and lost it. Now it wasn't just a fit of anger, like a temper tantrum. I literally could hear…at least I thought I heard it…snap inside me. I didn't know if it was grief, but it was corroding my very being.

"Raylin, I have to go to the town center. If you aren't there in twenty minutes, I will come back for you. You _don't_ want that!" He swept out of the room like a phantom.

I had to make a plan. I had to save everyone! I rushed to the basement and took my emergency supplies out. I was paranoid, but for good reason! How could the Capital do that to those children!

I rushed to the town center with my supplies. I saw all the colorful decorations. All the pretty fabric strung along everywhere. Then I started humming. At first it was low, but it got louder. I could feel people staring at me, but they just thought it was Raylin being Raylin again. They were beyond wrong.

"Ring around the rosy" I sang out. I grabbed one of my bottles of petroleum. I threw it at the stage, while the Mayor and Evergreen were on it.

"Pockets full of posy," I sang even louder. I lit the match and some people were getting the jest of what I was going to do.

"Ashes, ashes, we all fall down!" I screamed. I threw the match and the entire stage burst into flames. I bobbed and weaved through the crowd singing the song at the top of my lungs. I threw the petroleum everywhere and lit it on fire. After awhile I looked around and saw everything was on fire. I had saved the entire district! No one would be reaped this year! It would be canceled! And, if for some reason, it wasn't, some of them would be freed through death!

I felt a burning pain shoot through my chest. I could feel the blood oozing out of me. Now that the crowd was gone the Peacekeepers picked me out easily. They had shot me and I was dying. I looked at what I had caused. I was there Savior! I saved them all! I fell to the ground and felt the life ooze out of me.

This was the Capital's fault. Them and their stupid Quell. I wasn't crazy!

I was insane!

**Jute's POV:**

The commotion settled down once the Peacekeepers stomped all the flames down. I could feel the tears pooling into my eyes. I didn't know what happened to Raylin, but he completely lost it! He set the entire square on fire. Fifty people were dead! That was including him, our Mayor, Evergreen, and one of our neighbors Bill. I tried not to cry, but I couldn't help it. I cried a lot…I just got really emotional sometimes…

"All right," the Head Peacekeeper barked, "I will continue the Reapings." He read the Mayor's speech and thrust his hand into the boys' ball.

"Jute Farlend!" he yelled.

The tears that were all ready going down my face started going even faster. Well, today was just going fabulous! I could feel my face going red from my emotions. I walked to the stage as calmly as possible. I glanced around. I could see the stacks of burnt bodies behind us. I kicked some ashes around. Were these Evergreen's ashes too? I tried to stop myself from crying. I was eighteen years old! I should be able to stand in front of all of Panem and not cry!

"Azalea Cress!" he yelled again. I see a girl come towards the stage. Her head is held high and face is fairly red. Why couldn't I be like her? Why couldn't I be strong? We shook hands and went to the Justice Building. I walked into the room and heard the door slam behind me. It opened very soon after and my family walked in.

My father walked in and hugged me. My father was the Mayor's assistant and was probably very busy having to arrange his funeral. He expected me to take over his job one day, but what I really wanted to be was a doctor. You see, we were pretty rich so my I never had to work in factories. Instead, I would stay home and help my mother with medicine. I found I liked it a lot and grew to love it. I never told my parents that I wanted to be a doctor, but why now? I was just going to die anyways…

My mother hugged me as well and we all started crying. My older sister, Alice, came in and gave me a sympathetic pat on the back. She was the Mayor's secretary, so she most likely twice as busy as my father right now. The Mayor's death wasn't going to help anyone right now. We had quick, tearful goodbyes and then they were gone.

Next came my best friend, Weft. At least, he was my best friend. I was never quite sure where I stood with him. Well, he came to see me off…right? He started cracking jokes and I practically shoved him out the door. If he wasn't t going to take this seriously I wouldn't take him seriously. A few others I knew poured in. Paula, from down the street. Oliver, the Peacekeeper's kid.

Then I finally got some well deserved peace. I sat down and thought. Who would be our mentor this year? Who would be our escort? Would we even be able to make it through this? I took a pocket mirror out of my, well, pocket and looked into it. I found looking at my reflection always calmed me down. I had short, light brown curly hair. My green eyes looked misty and my skin was flushed. I put it away after I felt like I was steadily breathing again.

The Peacekeepers came in and dragged me away. I didn't feel like walking. As we passed the town center all I could think of was why. Why did Raylin do this to us? Who in their right mind would do such a thing? Oh, that's right; he wasn't in his right mind. Of course, who in Panem was?

**So tell me what you think of someone going crazy arsonist on everyone! Review! Okay guys almost done with Reapings! Then we get onto the good stuff, and then eventually we get onto the great stuff!**


	10. District Nine Reapings

**District Nine:**

**Alix's POV:**

"Get out you lazy scumbag! Don't you realize today is REAPING DAY!" Of course that would be the noise I would awake too. I quickly ran out of my room and found Anna standing there with a broom. She was swinging it and hitting some half dressed guy.

"Get OUT!" She screeched. She hit him with the back of the broom and sent him sprawling on the ground. He scrambled up and was out the door of our house in seconds.

"Was that _really_ necessary Anna?" Marie asked groggily.

"He paid for one night. _Night._ Then he was trying to get banged again this morning! Plus, I have things I really need to do before the Reaping starts!" With that, Anna walked into her room and slammed the door. I rolled my eyes and turned to Marie. We didn't know what was going on with Anna. She used to be so, well not nice, but not cruel to everyone. Then she started her little business to get more money and it's gotten even worse!

We were all orphans and pretty much just had each other. My parents were one of the richest people in District Nine, but one day they died by some freak electrical accident. Then I was kicked out on the streets and practically died. I did think of selling myself for awhile, but I was only thirteen at the time and only the creepy perverts would have taken me. Not even I would stoop that low.

Anyways, eventually I met Anna and Marie. We then became best friends and got jobs together at one of the meat factories. We got enough money for this small, three bedrooms and one bath apartment. There was also a small living room but that's it.

The thing that really got us by was Anna's full proof plan. And by full proof, I mean we could die at any second. We started stealing from the factory. A piece of meat here, a few dollars there, and we were great. Enough to pay rent and get buy meal wise. It was really simple. Marie was on the conveyor belt so she would just swipe some meat every now and then.

Anna was on the team that cleansed the meat with chemicals, so she could easily steal meat there and slip a few things to sell in here pockets. I was the one with the most dangerous job. I was on the cleaning crew. You know, clean machinery and hallways. Pretty much keep the place presentable for health inspection every few months. Anyways, every now and then I was assigned to clean the office hallways. When I was, I would sneak down the hallway, pick the lock to one of the empty offices, and take some money. I could usually get away with taking a lot since that's where all the bigwigs were and they didn't miss twenty or so dollars.

The point was that one of us could easily get caught and then that would jeopardize us all. Marie and I were the most worried about that, but Anna wasn't worried at all. In fact, she wasn't worried about anything. All she seemed to care about now days was money. She always needed more and we never understood why. Did she really think we could be able to become rich by stealing it all?

"Come on, Alix, let's get ready before Anna hogs the bathroom." We both walked into our bedrooms to grab our outfits. I had one Reaping outfit and I liked it a lot. It was a short red dress with slits up the back. Plus, I had my black pumps that accessorized it quite nicely. I walked into the bathroom after I was changed to find Marie doing her makeup. She wasn't that concerned with her looks usually, but on Reaping Day she went all out. She was quite pretty but both her and Anna said I was the pretty one in the group.

I looked in the mirror and almost laughed. Me? Pretty? I guess I could see it from the logical stand point. I had pretty eyes, skin, hair, and bone structure that most girls would kill for. What I lacked in was the beautiful personality people had, such as Marie. You see, I was sarcastic, cynical, and vindictive…so pretty much a bitch. Yeah, I would admit it! I was a bitch and was pretty proud of it! It's what kept me alive this entire time.

I looked in the mirror at my blue eyes. They said eyes were a looking glass into the soul. I didn't see anything. Every time I looked into my eyes, I just saw emptiness. Sometimes anger, but that's about it.

I sighed and finished brushing my light brown hair. I was pretty tan and toned. I didn't know why I was tan. I was one of those people that spent an hour in the sun and just tanned. Never burned. It was pretty weird.

"Are you idiots _done_ yet? Some of us have to pee!" I heard Anna yell.

"Some of us want to look nice for Reaping Day. So tell your bladder to suck it up and shut up for a few minutes!" I yelled.

I saw a glance of a…nice…hand gesture.

"Aw, glad you think I'm number one," I yelled.

After five minutes, Marie and I were ready to go. Anna shut the door and we waited. First we ate our breakfast fairly slowly and then I even read one of the few books we owned!

"Are you almost done, Anna! We don't have all day," I yelled.

"Just…go on without me…I'll catch up…in a few…" Anna said…dreamily?

"All right, just don't be late!" With that, I grabbed Marie's arm and dragged her out the door. I wasn't going to be late and risk getting in trouble just because some floozy had to get her makeup just right. We walked to the District and I could see people giving us side glances.

We were a bit of the queen bee pack around here. We didn't go to school anymore, but everyone still knew us. All the boys knew us because of Anna's…business and my flirty ways, the girls knew us because we were a bit bitchy to most of them, and the adults knew us because their sons and daughters either complimented us or hated us. We were pretty much rejects, but I didn't let that get to me. They were just jealous…well they had nothing to be jealous of but I refused to believe they truly didn't like me…

We finally made it to the town center. We walked to our section. I wasn't really worried. We all took a pack to never sign up for food since that would get us one step closer to the Hunger Games. None of us wanted to be in those games…

I felt a sharp jab in my back and turned around. Some guy had totally elbowed me in the back to go see one of his friends.

"Excuse me is the proper thing to say," I said to him. He spun around and sneered at me. Oh, he wanted to play the hard way.

"Or I could rip your heart out and stuff it down your throat. It's your choice gaywad," I hissed. His eyes got a little wider. He knew I would do something close to my threat…I always carried through with a threat. Otherwise, people would think I was a liar. Well, I was when I had to be but on a general whole I didn't lie a lot. Just stole, and destroyed people's confidence and reputation. Wasn't I just such a great person?

"I'm sorry," he muttered. Then I did the thing that would show him he made the wrong choice. I kicked him right where no guy ever wanted to be kicked. He fell to the ground howling in pain.

"Yeah, that's what I thought dipstick." I turned back around and casted my attention to the stage. The Mayor just started making his speech. Oh gosh, did he ever shut up! We get it, you're so fabulous! He held his head high up like he was so much better than us. If he was so much better than us, then why was he one of Anna's most frequent customers? It's because he was a scumbag who needed to bang something that wasn't his age. I really hated that man. Of course, his wife wasn't much better. She knew all about the Anna thing and who did she take it out on? Not her husband, but Anna. I guess Anna could turn him down but that wasn't the point. The point was that if Anna wasn't around, the mayor would just move on to some other girl. The Mayor's wife really needs to rethink her marriage.

Then our escort came on to the stage. He was way too perky and bubbly, but he was extremely hot. He was always my favorite part of the Reapings. Most likely in his twenties and he had the most gorgeous face. It was probably surgically made that way, but it didn't stop it from being so attractive!

He thrust his hand into the boys' ball and started digging around. He tried to make it suspenseful by pretty much making us wait three minutes until he told us who the boy was.

"Vijay Blackman!" He shouted.

A tall, buff looking kid walked out of the fourteen year old section. He had dark black hair and his eyes practically looked black. His skin was also black and I was very surprised. Not only did we not have a lot of "black" people in District Nine, but I had never seen him around! That's saying something! I thought I had flirted with pretty much every guy in this district, and yes just flirted. Gosh I had never slept with anyone I swear! Anna didn't believe me and Marie just left the subject alone. Thanks Panem for Marie otherwise I think my head would pop off my body!

Anywho, the attractive boy took the stage and he looked pissed. Well, I'd feel the same way if I was chosen. At least, I think I would. Then, after the escort asked for volunteers, Vijay took the microphone.

"I'm going to be back, and you are all going to regret sending me in the first place." Silence. What did he mean? We didn't send him anywhere! Gosh, talk about speaking without thinking! Now all of Panem probably thought he was an idiot. And if not all of Panem, at least I did. The escort dug around for the girls' name. I had to stop myself from yawning. It wasn't me. I was seventeen and almost done with this Reaping thing. I'd probably grow out of being a bitch, get married, and settle down with plenty of money. The Hunger Games weren't anywhere in my plan.

"Alix Van Airengarde!"

Well, they were now.

You know how I assumed I would be pissed. I was dead wrong. Oh, take that back. I should probably stop using the word dead in my thought process if I wanted to survive, not that I would. The odds were completely against me.

Anywho, I felt my face pale. I was going into the Hunger Games. I was most likely screwed. I was terrified, for the first time since I was out on the streets dying. I was scared, and nothing would be able to fix it.

So of course I did whenever I was unsure of how I was feeling. I acted like I was pissed and stormed off. Well, I actually stormed to the stage but you get the picture. I stood on the stage and just glared at the audience. Hopefully, my anger masked my insecurity. He asked for volunteers, and of course there were none. I shook hands with Vijay and we glared at each other. So, I was his district partner. Bitchy, pretty, and fairly smart/witty me. Then there was him. Angry, idiotic, and, well, attractive him. We weren't going to get along. My victory in these Games and his death would insure that. We were competing after all.

**Vijay's POV:**

I was practically pushed into my waiting room. I was so blind. I had always thought the Hunger Games were no big deal. As long as I wasn't involved, it was all okay. Now look at me! I was a freaking tribute! My life sucked! I slumped into a chair and tried to control my emotions. I had a bit of a temper, and right now tears were threatening to spill over. I couldn't cry…no victors were made by crying. The only victor I could think of was a girl from a long time ago named Johanna Mason. She acted like a weakling, but that wouldn't really work for a six foot black man who could easily crush your skull.

I heard the door slam and I rolled my eyes. I didn't want to say good bye to anyone. It hurt too much to deal with right now. I opened my eyes to see my dad standing there. Oh great, the guy who thought he was a good father was here. He divorced my mom a while ago. Now I only got to see him a couple times a week. To make things worse, we were practically shunned because of the divorce. The people that didn't shun us didn't know we existed.

"What do you want," I grunted.

"I wanted to see my son off," he said. I just rolled my eyes again.

"Then why aren't you at home with your new family," I said spitefully. He and my mom were on good terms, but I wasn't with him. He didn't leave my mom for that woman, but he still married her. He still started a new family. He still let me fade into the background.

My father just opened the door, casted one last gaze on me, and left. I walked up and slammed the door he left ajar. What an idiot. I hoped no one else would come. I couldn't bear to see someone I disliked, let alone loved.

My wish didn't come true.

My mother barged in with tears streaming down her face. I hugged her and forced myself not to cry. She was so kind…would never hurt a soul… I was kind of the exact opposite of her. I was nice, but sometimes my temper got the better of me. That, and my embarrassment.

I was always worried people would find out. I was dyslectic...no one knew. I found out when I couldn't read anything in school. Then I asked a doctor casually about it once. He told me and he's pretty much the only one who suspects I'm dyslectic. Everyone thought I was just hot headed and stupid.

"Just take this as your token," my mother said before she rushed out of the room, still in tears. She couldn't handle a good bye either. It was to final…it was like saying I was going to die. I wasn't going to die…right? Oh, who am I kidding! There's no way I'll survive…

I finally looked down to my hand. My mother had handed me her gold bangle that said…well I didn't know what it said. It looked like GI DNU RSTTO to me. I slipped it onto my wrist. It was a family heirloom…I would wear it proudly.

Then, when I thought it was all over, it wasn't. My best friend, Jim, stomped in. I had a gang of friends, but he was my best friend and the leader of it. Of course he would come and give the good bye from everyone. He pretty much ranted about how screwed up this was and I full heartedly agreed. Right before he left, I asked him what my bangle said.

"TSURT EW DOG NI. Have no idea what it means, bro." With that, we did a swift man hug and he left. Then I was left to ponder my thoughts, which were pretty much depressing and pessimistic. I thought about my district partner, Alix. She was such a slut, from what I've heard. A lot of people knew about her, most didn't like her, but most respected her. She was smart. She was a survivor. Not a lot of people would have been able to survive what I've heard she has gone through. I sighed. We probably wouldn't like each other, which meant no alliance for us.

I got up and started pacing. How was I going to win? Fight my way to the top? I could try, but it probably wouldn't work. I had brute strength but little else. I wouldn't be able to sneak my way to the top. I stood out like a sore thumb. Winning off of smarts was not me either. Making alliances? I wasn't the most social person…gosh I was screwed in every aspect of this game wasn't I?

Maybe I could hide my way to the top. I mean, I wasn't fast and people would probably notice me right off the bat, but once we got in the arena what would stop me from running away from the Cornucopia and into cover? Nothing! If anything tried, I could always smash it, or him or her, down. Then once I was in cover I could just stay hidden. Stay hidden and forage for food. Learn about edible plants during training. Learn to hunt. Survive. Maybe I could make myself a survivor. Maybe I wasn't as screwed as I thought I was…

**Yes I know, two chapters in one day! So….Review! Tell me what you think of these tributes. I'm going to say, I love both of them a lot! Vijay is so amazing and Alix is such a wonderful bitch! Anyways, please review and tell me what you think of this chapter! SO CLOSE TO BEING DONE! Just six more fabulous tributes and we get past these Reapings!**


	11. District Ten Reapings

**District Ten:**

**Conium's POV:**

"Come on, Conny, we need to do our chores before the Reapings! You promised me that you would escort me to that party after the Reapings! Otherwise, mom and dad will never let me go without you!" Danaus whined. Danaus was my little sister. Well, not really little anymore. She was fifteen years old now, but I would always think of her as that little girl who would go skipping around the fields while I chucked mud at her.

We were the well known Maculatum family. We owned one of the most successful family run ranches in the district. We were kind of out in the middle of nowhere, however, so Danaus never got her "social" time unless one special event was happening in town. I never really cared. I was a bit of a loner. I preferred our herds of cows to people any day. However, Danaus was asking me to go mingle and she knew I could never say no to her.

"Let's go then," I said. She giggled and pulled me along. I grabbed a horse and rode out to the herd of cows. I needed to get them back in the barn, while Danaus needed to milk the ones that were all ready in there. I rod out and caught up to them. Then I started circling them and leading them towards the barn. My horse, Wisp, wanted to go faster, but I had to slow her down so we didn't outrun the cows. Then my dog, Lapin, came running out to help with the herding.

After an hour of herding I finally got them into the barn in one piece. I glanced in the barn and saw my sister getting them in the proper stalls. I sat down outside the barn and leaned back. She wanted to get up early and do chores, so she could finish the rest by herself. I did the hard work!

I picked an herb that was growing off the ground and started nibbling on it. It was pretty tasty for not being fully grown. I had learned a lot about edible plants and stuff since I was usually out on the fields. I would get hungry and wouldn't want to ride all the way back to the house. I knew everything that was edible, non-edible, medical, and poisonous in District Ten. It was a pretty nifty skill.

Danaus came out and saw me lounging about. "Have you been sitting there the entire time!" She yelled. I just nodded and walked back to the house. I heard her little huff of frustration and she followed me. I went into my room and quickly changed. I wasn't going to shower since I did that yesterday.

I walked into the bathroom and washed my face off. I looked in the mirror and rolled my eyes at myself. I was so stupid looking sometimes. I had dark black hair and light brown eyes. I was pretty short for a seventeen year old, but had muscles to make up for it. My skin was super tan and rough from always being outside. But the thing I hated was that I was missing both my front teeth. I got kicked in the face by a horse once when I was little.

"Are you ready yet, Conny?" My sister asked. I rolled my eyes again. She was the only person who called me Conny. My name was Conium and if anyone else but her called me "Conny" I would rip them in two.

"Yeah, yeah, Sissy!" I said. I walked out and she looked quite nice. An electric blue dress that made her eyes pop.

"That dress is a bit short…you should probably go change before dad kills you." I scolded. She just laughed.

"He can deal with it, as can you! I'm a growing woman! If I want boys to start taking an interest in me I got to put myself out there," she said.

"Fine, put yourself out of there, but you don't have to put your breasts out there too," I joked. She just laughed and slapped me lightly on the shoulder. I escorted her down the stairs.

"Now Danaus," I heard my father say. I wanted to say I told you so, but I didn't. My father was the main breeder of our farm. He was always at home and was a bit of the mother hen of the family. He had the same light golden brown hair as my sister and her green eyes. I inherited my dark hair and eyes from my mother. My mother was always about town and knew all the juicy gossip and secrets. Yet, she somehow learned how to get everyone's secrets without telling any of hers and ours. My sister inherited that from her too, but I had never picked up on that talent.

"Now Daddy," my sister mocked.

"Are you really wearing that?" he asked.

"No, she wore it down the stairs and was planning on changing down here," my mother interrupted. I snickered but tried to stay serious.

"I could always go in my birthday suit," she mocked. My dad had to stop her from taking it off right in the middle of the kitchen. The sad thing is she would have too, just to prove her point. She was so stubborn sometimes.

"Fine, wear the dress! Let's just go!" My dad said tiredly. Our family had some of the weirdest interactions ever. We quickly ate breakfast and were out the door.

We hopped into our car and my mother started driving. We had enough money to own a car, which was a luxury most people didn't have. We made it to the town square and parked right outside of it. I went to my seventeen year old section and waited.

Our mayor took the stage. He bugged me quite a lot. Half the time he didn't have a soul…wait…could you only have a soul only half of the time? Maybe he rented a soul every now and then for special occasions, like marriages and funerals.

Then our escort took the stage and I rolled my eyes. She was new to the job and new to our district. She couldn't be older than twenty and she was perky. Gosh, perky people bugged me sometimes. Maybe I should say perky people bugged me when it really wasn't a time to be perky. She lightly took out a name from the girls' ball.

"Natalie Swan!"

A girl from the fifteen year old section walked to the stage and I almost gasped. She looked exactly like Danaus. She had her hair, except it was pulled back into a pony tail, and the same tan skin. The only difference was the eyes. Danaus' eyes were always so full of life and sparkled green. Natalie's eyes were grey and looked empty. No anger or sadness…just empty.

No volunteers and I felt my heart break a little. Part of it was because that could have been my sister up there, and the other part was because I would have to watch this girl most likely die in the Hunger Games.

"Conium Maculatum!"

I did what I always planned to do if I got picked for the Hunger Games. I kept a straight face. I walked up to the stage calmly and all I could think of was that I was glad my sister wasn't picked. Now I would have to deal with this girl who looked so much like my sister. I internally smiled to myself. I was so glad I had learned about the edible plants and especially the poisonous ones. That would be invaluable in the arena…if they had the same type of plants we had.

I shook hands with Natalie. Her emotionless eyes stared straight into mine. Was she acting too? Was she concealing her emotions or did she really feel nothing? I tried to think how I was going to get around this awkward situation and only one solution came to me. If I couldn't beat her, I would just have to protect her.

**Natalie's POV:**

I walked into the dingy room and slumped onto the couch. There was so much wrong with this picture. I had always planned escape and now I was trapped as ever. Ever since I was little I had wanted out of this district…I even had a plan! Well, kind of…but it didn't matter now. If I lost the games, I was dead. If I won, I was the Capital's puppet and would never be free. The second my name was pulled out of that ball my life was over. I was forever trapped.

My father walked in and I just stared at him. I wasn't angry with him, but it was extremely awkward. He taught me everything I knew about animals. How to hunt, kill, and cook them. He taught me how to tame them, love them, and take care of them. He taught me how to herd them. However, ever since my mother died…he just hasn't been around. Too busy with his own grief to see other people are hurting I suppose.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," I replied. He came over and patted me awkwardly on the back. We stayed in the awkward silence for awhile.

"Well, I better go. Your dog might be eating all the livestock." And then he was gone. I almost laughed. What an awkward thing to say when you saw your daughter for the last time. When I was younger, I rescued a stray wolf. He called it a dog, but it was a wolf. Her name was Athena. A black wolf who I loved very deeply. Her and I were going to escape one day. Well, not anymore…

Then my best friend came through the door. My neighbor, Ann Kingston, had fire in her eyes. I was not a bit surprised. She was such a fiery spirit. We didn't have any tears.

"I'm going to see you soon," was all she said. We hugged and then she was gone. I sat down and thought. I wondered if any of the other tributes did that after the goodbyes were done. Did they ever just sit down and think? I would see her again…I knew I would.

My thoughts went to my district partner. He seemed blank…emotionless. Of course, I probably seemed the same way…was he acting like I was? Maybe we could be allies. All I knew was I didn't want a huge alliance. One or two people tops. What would my strategy be for the arena? Well, most likely stay out of the way. Possibly take a few risks but I would most likely want to stay out of the spotlight. I sighed and buried my head into my arms. I had no idea what I was doing. I always wanted to escape…now I was stuck here. Waiting to be moved to the next cage.

That's when I decided to take my first risk. Maybe I could still escape. This would be the biggest risk I had ever taken, but it was worth it if I could pull it off. I positioned myself to be ready. I grabbed a decorative vase and stood by the door. Fifteen minutes later, it opened. I smashed the vase into the first Peacekeepers head and he slumped to the floor. I rushed out the door and sprinted down the hallway. I could hear the other Peacekeepers right behind me. I had taken advantage of those few seconds where they were shocked and didn't do anything, but I doubted I would get another chance to catch them off guard.

I sprinted into the nearest door and slammed it shut. I then took one of the vase shards and lifted up one of the old wooden boards. I quickly scrambled onto the small space that was beneath the board and pulled it back down on top of me. I heard the door slam open, since I was right by it, and waited. Maybe they would give up. I heard them shouting. Furniture was up heaved. They got farther and farther away. Then I took my chance. I shoved the board up and sprinted out the door. I ran down the hallway.

Then I felt a blinding pain shoot throughout my body and everything went black.

**Review! Haha oh gosh, see what happens when I get so bored doing the normal reaping! I randomly write an escape scene! I don't even want to know whets going to randomly happen in the next few Reapings! I mean, think about it!**

**District Six, President shoots someone.**

**District Seven, the tributes start to hate each other.**

**District Eight, the place gets lit up and people die.**

**District Nine, a guy gets kicked in the no no square**

**And now this. Its only getting worse haha! So review so I feel inspired to write more and we can be done with the Reapings!**


	12. District Eleven and Twelve Reapings

**I hope you don't mind I combined the last two Reapings. I just had too! My reaping writing was done and I couldn't make them long enough to be two separate chapters. I hope you all understand!**

**District Eleven:**

**Melody's POV:**

"Melody, wake up." I heard my father say softly. I just kept my eyes shut and pretended to still be asleep. I didn't want to deal with today.

"Honey," I heard my mother say to my father, "Stop. This requires a mother's touch…MELODY AZULA TRINE! YOU WAKE UP OR SO HELP ME THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY!" My eyes shot open and I ran into my closet to find a good reaping outfit. I could hear my mother laughing on the way out. I wanted to go back and glare at her, but whatever. It didn't matter anyways…my family didn't understand me! They never would.

I finally found a cute outfit that was forest green and would just make my green eyes pop! My family was one of the richer families in the district. I put the dress on and walked to the bathroom. I quickly brushed my brown hair and tried to avoid the mirror. I had the weirdest looking nose…it was so small and pointy. It made my sixteen year old face look so much younger! I hated it. My skin was lighter than most of the people in my district, but it weren't pale compared to normal standards.

I finally put the finishing touches on with my red lipstick. I always wore it…it was something my best friend and I did. Kind of tradition I guess… I went downstairs and sat down at the kitchen table. I ate my food as quickly as possible and skedaddled. I hated being around my family. They just didn't get me! I was an actress! Of course I was going to be overdramatic! Every time they talked to me it was always about not be so over dramatic! I just couldn't help it! I was just so out of place in this District!

I ran to the town center to meet up with my friends. Taint was my best friend forever, and then I loved Ashlen and Shannon to death! We all met up in the sixteen year old section and started babbling. We were all co writing a play together. I was helping with the characters, Taint was doing lines, Ashlen had the scenery planned out, and Shannon had hair and makeup memorized! It would be so fabulous! We didn't know what we were writing Shannon to death! We all met up in the sixteen year old section and started babbling. We were all co writing a play together. I was helping with the characters, Taint was doing lines, Ashlen had the scenery planned out, and Shannon had hair and makeup memorized! It would be so fabulous! We didn't know what we were writing yet, but we would decide that after the Reapings.

Then I saw him. I felt my stomach start to do flips. Walking around in our section was the boy of my dreams. I hadn't exactly met him yet…I didn't even know his name! However, I had that gut feeling that told me we would be perfect together!

"Hey," I said to Shannon nervously. Taint was the only person who knew I liked him and neither of us had ever met him. "Do you know what that boy's name is, over there?" Shannon looked at him and smiled.

"Oh yeah, that's Griffin. Why?" she asked. I could feel my heart start to soar, but I had to give her an answer.

"He promised me some history notes," I lied. I was quite the convincer when I wanted to be. "And I would have found it awkward to ask about it when I couldn't recall his name!" I started giggling to cover up my utter joy from learning his name.

Our Mayor made his speech and it seemed to flash right by. Then our escort took the stage and I wanted to cover my ears. Her voice sounded so terrible! It was a mix between a screech and scream all the time! She dug around in the girls' bowl.

"Melody Trine!" All I could feel was dread.

Then my acting skills kicked in. I wiped my face free of all emotion and just took the stage. I wouldn't let them see me cry. All that joy I just had was completely obliterated. Our escort dug around for the boys' name.

"Jakov Douglas!"

A boy emerged from the fifteen year old section. He had light brown hair and light brown eyes. He seemed to have a glimmer in his eyes that screamed troublemaker. He had a look of shock on his face but I could tell it was fake. I could spot acting from a mile away! We shook hands and the only thought that came to my mind was that I had better act my butt off if I wanted to come home!

**Jakov's POV:**

I wanted to scream. I wanted to break something. I wanted to break someone! Yet, I kept a calm exterior while the Peacekeepers practically shoved me into the waiting room. The only person who would come say goodbye to me would be Shadow. Everyone else hated me. Plus, my parents were dead, so that didn't help my case.

Right on cue, Shadow walked in. She and I had been dating for four years. WE grew up in the community house together. We loved each other. We planned to start a home one day…and now I was going to my death.

"Stay strong," was all she said. She handed me something and hugged me tightly. We stayed like that for awhile. Then she quickly kissed me and rushed out of the room. She was gone…just like that…like a Shadow. That's why everyone called her Shadow. First you saw her, and then you didn't. I looked at what she handed me and felt myself tear up.

It was a wristband that had scraps of metal and marbles around it. She must have been making it for our anniversary. It wasn't completed yet…just like our life together…

I sat down and tried to get my mind off of her. I tried to think of the arena. No good. I tried to think of my district partner and the only thing that came to mind was floozy. I tried to think of anything but Shadow. I completely failed.

The Peacekeepers came to get me and I walked with them. As I walked to the train, I saw in the shadows Shadow. She was sitting there and I could see silent tears rolling down her face. I wanted to cry myself, but I couldn't. Not here…not now. I felt something stir within me. I would come back! I would come back for Shadow. So she could finish this wristband. So we could finish our life together…the right way!

**District Twelve:**

**Dusk's POV:**

"Hey, Grandpa. Come on, we need to get to the Reapings," I whispered. My grandpa's eyes shot open and I just helped him out of bed. My grandpa had gotten a non contagious disease a few years back. He was slowly dying…so I had to take care of him. I was worried daily that he would die. He was all I had left…my parents died ten years ago and I had been taking care of my grandpa ever since.

"Just…just…get me…to the closet." He wheezed. I set him down on his wheelchair and rolled him into his closet. This wheelchair cost a fortune! I had to work for hours to even rent a wheelchair, let alone buy this one! I walked downstairs and started breakfast. I was making a simple broth with some bread. I had found it in the scraps some of the merchants threw away. It was still perfectly fine…just a little moldy! If you just cut off the moldy part it was perfectly good to eat!

"Good morning!" I heard Hailey say. I turned around and smiled. This little girl was one of my favorites. She had just turned five and she was so sweet. One day, kids were picking on her and I made them stop. I was a bit…feared in this District. People avoided me since they really didn't know me. I heard the rumors. I was in this house training for the Hunger Games. I was in here doing drugs. I was in here holding people captive. When, in all reality, I couldn't leave very often because my grandpa needed me.

Anyways, she followed me home and has been helping us out ever since. She would tell her parents she was going out to play with her friends and then she would come here and help out. Gosh, if they knew I was her friend they would probably have me arrested for being a pedophile or something.

"Good morning, Hailey! Would you like some breakfast?" I asked happily. I usually wasn't that happy of a person, but this little girl brought out the nice side of me. I was one of those people that if you scratched my back I would scratch yours. Otherwise, I just kind of ignored people.

"No thanks! I already ate!" she exclaimed. My grandfather rolled into our small kitchen area. "You go change," she said happily, "I'll keep gramps company!" and with that she playfully shoved me out the door.

I walked into the living room and ransacked my pile of clothes. I gave grandpa the bed and I took the floor. It was no big deal, except it would be nice to have some privacy sometimes. I walked into the bathroom and shut the door. I changed into black jeans and a black t-shirt. I looked at myself in the mirror. I had the palest skin for a Seam kid. It was mostly because I stayed indoors so much. You see, I did a lot of odd jobs around town since I couldn't leave my grandpa alone. Otherwise, if I could, I would be in the mines in two seconds. It was dangerous but it paid very well…well better than what I was getting paid now.

I would mostly do laundry for the merchants; do things I could do in the house. If I ever did a job outside of the house I made sure Hailey was around to watch my grandpa. My brown, almost black eyes, stood out against my pale skin. I had black hair that fell to my shoulders. I really needed to get that cut…it made me look so weirder than I already was.

I exited the bathroom to find Hailey and my grandpa ready to leave. We walked to the town center in silence. I could feel people looking at me, like I was a freak. We finally made it to the center and Hailey disappeared. She would have to meet up with her parents and she couldn't be seen with me when she found them. I left my grandpa towards the side and walked to my section. I merged in with the seventeen year olds and ended up near the front.

I was standing next to a blonde girl, definitely merchant. Then I saw the boy on her other side and realized who they were. They were the Pendragon twins. They were the children of one of our mentors, Ophelia. We had two living victors, Ophelia and Cody. Ophelia was a bit towards the older side and I had no idea how she won her games. Cody, however, won his games five or six years ago. He pretty much won on sheer luck. The mutts took care of the careers and the careers took care of everyone else before they died.

The Mayor made his speech and then our escort, Fiyero, took the stage. He seemed nice, but he was too perky for my tastes. Of course, what escort wasn't perky? He dug for the girls' name.

"Olivia Pendragon!" I heard an audible gasp from beside me and from the stage. Ophelia and her daughter, Olivia, both looked very pale. Olivia took slow steps toward the stage. I guess the rumors about her weren't true. People said Ophelia had trained her children in case they ever got reaped. They were both outsiders like me. If she really was trained, wouldn't she be happy to be in the Hunger Games?

She looked as white as a sheet. With her blonde hair flowing in the wind. I could see tears starting to form in her hazel eyes. Fiyero dug around for the boys' name. Fate liked to play tricks on people. Especially me it seemed.

"Dusk Shalts!"

I walked to the stage feeling empty. All I could think about was my grandpa. Who would take care of him? When the old had no one in this District they died. No one was willing to take care of them. Would my grandpa starve on the streets without me? I shook hands with Olivia and I knew one thing. I may not have anything up my sleeve. What I do have though is something worth fighting for. I have two lives at stake, while others only have one!

**Olive's POV:**

I walked into the waiting room feeling completely helpless. One more year and I would have been free! Could have done whatever I wanted. Now I was sucked into the Hunger Games. People thought I was a Career. In a way, I was. My mother did prepare me for the Hunger Games. Just not in the Career way. She taught my brother and me a lot about edible plants. She taught us about rope tying, fire starting, and running. She made us run a lot. She pretty much taught us everything about surviving in the wild. Then she let us choose one thing to focus on for training. One unique thing that would tip the scales in our favor. My brother decided he wanted to learn about poison.

I decided to learn about bombs.

I knew how to make them from simple scraps. I knew how to make bombs of all kinds. With the right tools and ingredients, I could make a bomb shoot out electricity or acid. It was a lot like cooking in my opinion. Then my mother and brother barged in. It was just us. We didn't have a lot of friends because of the whole possible Career thing. My father had died when I was young. I didn't know how and I never asked about it. I could tell my mother preferred it that way.

"We don't have much time!" my mother whispered. "They are cutting our goodbyes short," I gave her a questioning look.

"Apparently there afraid I'll try something. Something happened in District Eight and they are afraid you being reaped might make me snap. Whatever, the point is we all board the train in ten minutes."

My brother hugged me and I knew my mother was going to tell me something I didn't want to hear.

"What is it…?" I said.

"Remember that time when I taught you about acting. Now is the time to put it to use. Everyone knows you're my daughter. They are going to think you trained which you have. They are going to try to take you out."

"So I need to act weak?" I asked nervously.

"No…they are smarter than that. They will know you are acting for sure if it's just weak. They need proof that you are no good. If you act a certain way with your personality they won't take you seriously."

"What do you have in mind, mother?" I asked again.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this…Honey, I need you to act like a complete and utter whore!" I felt my eyes grow huge.

"Excuse me," I sputtered.

"If you act like a slut no one will think your serious! They will think your easy killing and let you get past the bloodbath. Once your past that you can bring your real skills out and win! It's a good plan! Your reaction at the Reaping was perfect! A slut would act scared if she were reaped. She wouldn't have time to be all sexy when death was knocking at her door!"

I could feel the shock on my face. What kind of mother asked their daughter to act like a slut? "I can't" I stuttered.

"Just find that inner whore in you! Yank her out and ride her for all she's worth!" I felt my face turn bright red. My mother so did not understand how wrong that sounded. This was so awkward…

As the Peacekeepers came to tear us apart, I knew one thing. I might not be super pretty or anything, but the Hunger Games were about to see the most flirty, slutty, trashy tribute they had ever seen!

**Review! THE REAPINGS ARE DONE! THANK PANEM THEY ARE OVER! Train rides will be up sometime this week and those will be a lot of fun! So review and tell me what you think! Again, sorry I combined them. I hope there's a lot of quality in this chapter that makes up for it being short and put together.**


	13. Train Rides

**Train Rides:**

**District One:**

**Alex's POV:**

We boarded the train and I almost gasped in amazement. I was in one of the richest families in District One, but I had never seen anything like this. The carpet looked lush and comfortable, the chandeliers were surely handmade, and everything was exquisite. I glanced at the others. Vladimir was already sitting in a plush chair. My two mentors, Agatha and Copper, were looking at both of us, gauging our reactions. They both seemed like smart and attentive people. Not the usual District One victors. Then I saw Rouge.

Her face was completely blank. Ice cold. She glanced around and I realized how stupid my amazement must have looked. I bet she was amazed and was hiding it. I was already learning from my District Partner quite well: never show what you are feeling otherwise you lose leverage.

"You may both go freshen up," Agatha croaked.

Rouge quickly left the room and went towards the place Agatha mentioned. I followed and went into the room across from Rouge. I was amazed again but tried to control it for practice. Everything in here was magnificent. I went straight to the shower and pressed the buttons experimentally. I came out smelling like a lot of different things. I changed into a suit because I needed to look presentable for dinner since this was the first time I was going to talk to our mentors.

I opened the door and walked out into the hallway, glancing at Rouge's door. She probably wasn't at the dinner table yet. Now was the perfect time to assess her. I knocked three times on the door.

"Come in," I heard her answer. I walked in to find her at her vanity brushing her hair out. She had on a sparkling blue dress that seemed to make her eyes come alive.

"Is there something you need," she said with a monotone voice. I sat down on her bed and waited for her to turn around and face me. She was raised properly and knew it was rude to not look directly at someone when you were having a conversation with them. She sighed and spun around on her chair.

"I just wanted to talk to you again, that's all. To see how you were doing," I prodded. Her eyes remained that same cold blue.

"No you weren't. You were checking out your competition." She said bluntly. I laughed. This girl was smart; she could see right through my false sympathy.

"You caught me. I know you trained a bit before now. Are you thinking of joining the Career alliance?" I asked. I knew there would only be a small one, but I needed to see her state of mind. Plus, she might not be the best with weapons but with her mind I would be happy to have her in the alliance.

"No," she said sharply, "and yourself?" she inquired.

"No. I'm going to form my own Elite Pack," I stated, "Does that change your mind?"

I saw a hint of a smile cross her face, but just like lightning it was gone. "No," she stated.

"So you're going rogue on us, Rouge," I joked, "Do you mind if I call you that from now on? Rogue. I think it fits you better than cheery makeup."

"I don't care what you call me as long as I win and you lose," she spat.

"Well, that's not going to happen," I replied. We just glared at each other. I didn't dislike her. In fact, I found her quite amusing. However, she was probably my main competition, strategy wise. I had a feeling this girl could come up with a strategy and execute it before most people could realize there was a situation that they needed a strategy for. She was just like me in that department and I'd much rather have her on my side then against me.

"Time will tell," she said ominously.

"I can tell your going to be a pain in the butt later. But I like you… Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me," I said. I got up to leave. When I made it to the door, I heard a quiet whisper.

"Wait," she said. Her voice got louder when I turned around. There was something different. Her eyes…they weren't cold anymore. Her ice barrier was gone, at least for now.

"Thank you for treating me like a competitor, and not just some pretty girl who doesn't know what she's doing."

I burst out laughing. I saw hurt register for a second before the ice barrier was back up.

"I wasn't laughing at you," I quickly said, "I was just laughing at the irony of it all. Of course I wouldn't treat you like that! You obviously know what you're doing!" I saw her eyes twinkle a bit and I heard her chuckle quietly.

"Thank you again," she replied.

"Would you mind telling me something, Rogue?" I asked sincerely. She looked at me for a few seconds before answering.

"Depends on what you're asking," she said coyly.

"You seem pretty distant…now I'm not telling you how to do anything but are you going to try to be cheery for the Capital?" I asked.

"No. Why would I? They aren't my friends!"

"You would because they could be the difference between life and death. You're the kind of tribute that the Capital loves." I stated.

"Why? Because I'm beautiful?" she questioned me angrily. "And, no, it's not arrogant to say so. I'm just stating a simple fact. A fact I've known since I could look in a mirror a few years ago without cringing."

"Frankly, yes. You are very beautiful. It's more than that, though. There are probably going to be other beautiful or handsome tributes. The thing that makes you different is you can _act_. You can fool the Capital into think they are your best friends. You can act caring and happy. Other tributes don't have that kind of patience or skills."

"It doesn't matter. I won't do that anymore. I've been acting for people since I was little. I acted like I was okay with training for the Hunger Games. I acted like I loved being paraded around like a prostitute. I'm done with acting for people. I've been done for a while but now I am putting my foot down!" she cried passionately.

"What's few more days of acting if it could ensure your victory?" I asked. She looked stunned by my comment. "Use what weapons you've been given, Rogue. I have certain weapons that I can hide, but you have a weapon that everyone can see. Use that weapon, otherwise it's just going to lay there useless," I said bluntly. I didn't know why I was helping her out, but I felt like I had too. I didn't want her to die.

"I guess it wouldn't be too bad. Acting for the Chariot Rides and interviews seems doable. During training I can act as cold as I want too…all right, I'll try it. Thanks, Alex." She said genuinely.

"No problem," I responded.

"Would you mind escorting me to dinner," she asked sweetly. Apparently she was trying out her new acting nice and cheery attitude. I laughed and held out my arm. For a second, a smile flashed across her face before she went back to acting.

"I would be delighted to." We then walked down the hallway.

"I have a proposition for you," she said smoothly, "I know you will be the last one standing from your Elite Pack. Once you are, and if we meet up, would you like to be allies?"

I had to stop myself from smiling. If my Career Alliance broke up in the arena, then I had a back-up alliance! "Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way."

We continued to joke and act like friends until we neared the dining room. She immediately became silent and her barrier came back.

"Well, it's certainly nice to see District Partners actually being friendly," I heard Agatha croon. We unlinked arms and sat down at the table. It was a fairly silent meal. Vladimir seemed distant, our mentors were observing us, Rouge, or "Rogue", was acting cold and uncaring again, and I was silent because that's how I usually was.

"Let's get down to business," I heard Copper grunt, "Trained together or apart?"

"Apart," Rogue commanded. I just nodded. She didn't want me to have any dirt on her in case our little plan didn't work out. Smart girl.

"All right, the coaching will begin later tonight," Agatha confirmed. I nodded and went back to eating. The food was amazing and I couldn't get enough of it! Soon it was time for the Reapings. We walked to the viewing room and sat on a giant couch.

District One Reapings were first. I saw Rogue take the stage and was as emotionless as ever. Then there was me, which I didn't observe since I knew me.

District Two was even more interesting. A guy named Saturn was reaped and he was different. He seemed like he wasn't the typical Career. There was unique about him. Something off that I couldn't quite place. The girl, Isis, was bubbly and flirty. No way would she make it into the alliance. She probably had no skills except flirting.

District Three was fairly boring. A small girl was reaped. She looked frightened, but I saw some altercation with the Peacekeepers. Perhaps she should be watched out for. The boy, Solder, seemed big and strong. However, without skills that wasn't important at all.

District Four was perfect. The girl, Rapids, stormed up to the stage. She definitely had an attitude I was looking for in potential allies. The question was, did she have talents to support that attitude? Charlie seemed like a nice guy, but an elite career? Probably not.

District Five made me feel hopeful in the tributes this year. The boy, Neal, seemed like a perfect addition to the Careers. I could tell by how he carried himself he did some kind of sport. He always walked on the tips of his feet. Paloma seemed like a fighter and was definitely a prospect.

District Six was bleak. A girl with a limp was reaped along with a chubby boy. Bloodbaths for sure. Even if they had talents how could they outrun us?

District Seven seemed interesting, but not exciting. Neither of them would ever join us. The boy was too much of a loner and rebel and the girl seemed a bit to perky to try to join any Career alliance.

When District Eight came on, I was shocked. They didn't show the Reapings. They just showed a picture of each tribute and moved on. What kind of Reaping was that? Something must have happened to upset the Capital…something they wouldn't want the Districts to see.

District Nine was very promising. The boy was big and strong, while the girl seemed like a survivor. They both looked so pissed….were they really angry or were they faking it?

District Ten was fairly interesting. The boy - Conium or something - was very well built. He looked like he could crush me in seconds. The girl had this look about her that screamed competitor. I wasn't sure whether it was the look in her eyes or her stance, but something stood out.

District Eleven was very boring. I didn't see any real competition. Both tributes seemed wiry and weak. Maybe they had some sort of skill, but I highly doubted it. Two bloodbaths for sure.

District Twelve caught my eye. The male tribute, Dusk, seemed very sneaky. Smart. I got the feeling that if I let him get away from the bloodbath I wouldn't see him again until the final four. He would just…disappear. The girl, Olivia, was the daughter of a victor. Usually the children of victors had skills in some sort of area. Which meant she was competition.

The Reapings ended and I sat there in amazement. There was so much competition this year. Everyone seemed strong in their own way. Even Rouge and I faded in comparison to some of the other tributes. The thing that would tip the favor would be sponsors. That's what I would have to work on. Selling my idea of an Elite Pack to the Capital and getting sponsors for all of us was my main priority. It could be the difference between life and death.

**District Four:**

**Charlie's POV:**

"Wow," my District Partner and I said at the same time. I stared in amazement at, well, everything! It was all so fantastic! After a few seconds of awe, my District Partner snapped back to her moody self.

"Where the hell is my room?" she grumbled. I looked at her in shock. Talking like that to our mentors would get her killed!

"Down that hallway and to the right," Crescent said icily. Droplet stormed down the hallway without a glance back.

"What is wrong with that girl?" our escort, Lily, asked in shock. I just shook my head and followed. I found my room without much trouble and walked in. I plopped onto the bed and waited. I didn't want to shower or change…my mind was elsewhere.

What was Claire doing right now? Was she grieving that I was in the Hunger Games? Was she staying strong and hiding her emotions like she always tried to do? Maybe she was sleeping…she likes to take naps when she's sad. She said it helped her forget. I got up and started walking around my room. When would dinner be ready? I was famished and I really wanted to get out of this room and have some company. I guess I would most likely end up talking to one of our mentors. Droplet was moody and our escort was far to bubbly for my taste.

After another thirty minutes of thinking, an Avox came in. She motioned for me to exit and I knew dinner must be prepared. I made it to the dining car to find a feast! I sat down between Ethan and Droplet, with Crescent and Lily on the other side. Lily seemed oddly quiet but I didn't mind. Silence was a good thing. However, it didn't stay silent for long.

"Do you have any coffee?" Droplet nearly yelled. An Avox nodded nervously. "One cup, ten packets of sugar…and keep them coming!" she ordered. The Avox scrambled away.

"So Dropl-" Ethan started.

"Call me Droplet and I'll slice you open! It's Rapids!" she snarled. Ethan's eyes flared up.

"Try to slice me open and I'll choke you to death!" he growled.

"You want to _go_?" she yelled. Suddenly I regretted sitting in between them.

"Calm down both of you!" Crescent yelled. They both sat down with a huff. I wondered if either of them would notice if I moved to the other side of the table…

"So _Rapids_," Ethan said, "Are you and Charlie going to be trained together or separately?" Rapids just gave him a questioning look. Did this girl have no grasp on reality at all? I swear!

"He asking if we are going to be allies or not," I translated.

"With you? Probably not. But I wouldn't mind training with you. I have nothing to hide," she said grouchily. I just nodded. We were both sure the other wouldn't be able to beat us no matter what they learned. The real question was, which one of us was stronger and more talented? That person would be the one who won.

"Great," Crescent exclaimed, finally happy for some peace, "Rapids, what are your skills?" I looked over at Rapids and she was gulping down a cup of coffee.

"I'll go first," I said. I hoped I still had it. I used to train a little bit, but when I met Claire and we planned our future I stopped.

"I'm good with a knife." I said proudly, "I can also tie pretty good knots and I'm pretty decent at swimming." Crescent nodded and I could tell she clearly wasn't impressed.

"Rapids?" she asked. I heard a giggle and spun my head around. She was _smiling_! What the heck did they put in that coffee?

"Well, to start with, I should probably tell you about me," and she started gushing. She was smiling and saying everything in a sing-songy voice. She told us all about herself and her family. How she was always at sea. Something was seriously wrong with this girl!

"Which leads up to what I'm good at!" she exclaimed, "I'm really good at swimming and I love to climb! I've also gutted fish with machetes and chopped fire wood with them so I know how to swing them about! I mean, what's the difference between chopping wood and chopping someone's head off?" she giggled insanely.

After she finished talking everyone was silent. No one really knew what to say to her. Or to anyone for that matter.

"Are the Reapings on yet?" she asked cheerfully.

"I think so," Lily said unsurely.

"Well, then let's go!" Rapids got out of her chair and _skipped_ away.

"Coffee makes her happy…good to know," Ethan murmured. We walked to the room where we would watch it and sat down. She was hopping up and down in her seat. The Reapings flew by.

The only people that stood out to me were the Careers, District Three male, both from District Five, and both from District Nine. The rest seemed interesting, but I could handle them.

"Well that was fun," Rapids said excitedly. However, it was that tired excitement. It had been an hour or so since she had her coffee and I could tell it was wearing off. I really didn't want bitchy Rapids back. This Rapids may be weird, but at least she isn't scary!

"Anyone catch either of your eyes, besides the Careers?" Ethan asked. He could probably tell I was going to be in the Career alliance and Rapids was going to ditch. It seemed obvious to me, anyways.

"I thought District Seven and Ten looked interesting!' she announced. Ethan looked down thoughtfully. He didn't ask me which confirmed my thoughts about him noticing that I wanted to join the Careers. I talked strategy with Ethan while Crescent was discussing something with Rapids.

Suddenly, I heard Rapids shout, "What's it to you!" and she stormed off. Looks like the coffee wore off. This was going to be a very long week until the games started.

**District Seven:**

**Bree's POV:**

We walked into the train and I was surprised. It was so nice and comfy! I plopped down onto a chair and started laughing. I had a feeling the emotional stress of this ordeal had left me in a state of pure insanity. For some reason, I was completely enjoying it! I looked at my mentors who seemed to be enjoying my enthusiasm. Our escort was nowhere to be seen. I saw Link walking down the hallway.

"What's his problem?" I asked aloud. Streak, one of my mentors, shrugged. Streak seemed pretty cool. Smart. Then there was Beth, who I remember seeing in one of the Hunger Games. She was viscous with an axe!

"I don't know…maybe he is grieving," Streak said unsurely. I just laughed.

"Yeah right," I grumbled. I was a very happy-go-lucky kind of girl, but once someone got on my bad side they usually stayed there. I tended to hold grudges for a long time.

"Are you going to wash up?" Beth asked.

"No, I feel clean right now. Plus, it's just dinner and then the Reapings. There are no cameras so what's the point of dressing up?" Both my escorts burst out laughing.

"I never thought of it that way," Streak mused. I just laughed.

"Well, since you're out here, let's talk strategy." Beth demanded.

"Fine with me," I said cheerfully.

"Are you good with any weapons," Streak inquired.

I laughed some more, "I'm from District Seven! What weapon do you think I'm good with?" Beth just nodded while Streak chuckled.

"All right…strengths and weaknesses?" Streak asked.

"Well, I'm good with an axe and I know a lot about edible plants from my mo-AHHHHH!" I screamed. I dove off the couch and rolled to my feet. Stuck in the wall where I was just sitting was a knife. I looked at Beth as if she was crazy.

"What the _hell_ was _that?_" Streak yelled.

"Good reflexes are another one of her strengths," Beth said emotionlessly. I gulped. I remember hearing about how some Hunger Game victors went crazy and Beth must surely have been one of those.

"What would have happened if I didn't?" I asked cautiously.

Beth cracked an odd smile, "We would have gotten a new female tribute that did," she laughed. Streak and I looked at each other. This was his first year mentoring and probably my last year living. Neither of us had ever dealt with Beth and I hoped I would never have to again.

"Well, okay then," I said as happily as I could for a girl who almost got killed by the person who was supposed to be protecting her.

"Weaknesses," Beth asked. This time I could feel myself pale. Hopefully she wouldn't test to see if I had weaknesses. Like throwing fire at me to see if I was flammable.

"Well, I can't swim…I'm super claustrophobic…there are a lot of other things too - like I have terrible stamina…and I-" I heard Beth clear her throat.

"Why don't we test the stamina one?" she hissed. I felt my eyes grow huge.

"You wouldn't!" I exclaimed. Her eyes lit up and she grabbed her knife from the wall. I ran down the hallway that was opposite of the one that Link ran down. I could hear her behind me, and then I could hear Streak behind her.

"Beth _stop_!" I heard him yell. I just sprinted ahead until I heard a "Fine!"

I turned around to see Streak gripping Beth's arm. I walked back towards them cautiously.

"Dinner will be ready in a minute," Streak said slowly, "Go get Link while I have a 'chat' with Beth about how to treat our tributes." He didn't have to tell me twice.

I ran down the hallway, and asked an Avox where the rooms were. She showed me and I stood in front of Link's door. I was nervous as a bunny rabbit getting chased by rabid squirrels. I might even go as far as to say that I might rather deal with Beth than Link. I worked up the courage and opened the door.

"It'stimefordinner!" I said nervously. I opened my eye to find no one in the room. Then I blushed. This must be my room. Well…this was awkward.

I shut the door and walked across the hallway. I took a deep breath. I couldn't show him I was nervous or afraid. That wouldn't do. I opened the door.

"Dinner is re-" I gasped. Of course he would be standing there wearing no clothes. I screamed and averted my eyes. He yelled and I heard him run across the floor.

"What are you _doing_!" he yelled.

I opened my eyes, thinking he was covered. Nope, he was beside the bed pulling on underwear. I screamed again and felt my face turn bright red.

"I-i-I'm sorry! I didn't kn-"

"Ever heard of _knocking_? The door was _closed_ for a _reason_!" he yelled. I felt myself blush even more. I couldn't let him be the only one who was angry. So I decided to get angry too.

"Ever _heard_ of _changing_ in the _bathroom_?" I yelled back.

"Are you _seriously_ getting _mad_ at _me_ for being naked in my _own_ bedroom?" he screamed at me.

"No, I'm getting mad at you for being an _idiot_!" I screamed even louder. I opened my eyes to see him putting his shirt on, with his pants already on, thank Panem.

"You are so _intolerable_!" he yelled.

"You're such a _prick_," I yelled back, "not that you have much of one!" with that I stormed out and down the hallway. I heard him behind me, but I didn't look back. What an idiot he was. Somehow this was his fault. I didn't know how but it had to be!

We stormed into the dining room to find our mentors looking at us like we were insane.

"We heard shouting…are you gu-" Streak asked.

"We're _fine_!" we both yelled at the same time.

"Are you sure? Do you want to ta-"

"_No_!" we both yelled. We then sat down at opposite sides of the table and glared at each other. I talked to Streak while Link talked to Beth the entire time. I could feel the awkwardness in the air.

"It's Reaping time," Streak said. We all rose and walked to the watching room. I sat at the opposite end of the room as Link. I could never be within five feet of that boy again. I would either feel like punching him or that disgusting image of him in all his glory would pop into my head.

The Reapings zoomed by and I felt shivers run through my body. Everyone seemed like a competitor this year. Even the people who looked weak seemed like they had something up their sleeves. Of course, that meant a lot of good opportunities for alliances. I needed at least one other person if I was going to take down Link in the arena.

I saw Beth bring her knife out. No way was I going to warn him.

"So, Link, do you have any strengths we should know about…"

**District Eight:**

**Azalea's POV:**

We boarded the train and I didn't even look at all the ornament decorations. I didn't have time to be amazed or in wonderment of this luxury. I didn't have time to indulge myself on food and enjoy myself. I only had time to fight. If I was going to get home to my family that I just spent an hour crying with then I had to be a survivor.

I walked down the hallway to my left without saying a word. I didn't know what was going to happen. I personally didn't care who our mentor and escort was going to be. Who even knows if we'd get one? I passed the room that appeared to be my bedroom and kept walking. I needed to get away from it all. I kept walking I walked through the kitchen and through the storage area. I finally hit the back of the train.

I was a fairly nice sized platform and I just looked at the ground as we moved. We were moving so fast…I wondered…I went back into the storage room and grabbed a piece of broken wood. I went back outside and chucked it. In about two seconds it came flying back. I ducked and looked in really wonder. That was pretty amazing…I guess they didn't want to lose any tributes…

I leaned over the rail and watched the ground again. I felt peaceful…as if I was back in the park back home. I always loved nature - everything about it. The animals and the plants were fantastic. I loved the feeling of soft dirt between my fingers and damp grass on my bare feet. I didn't know how long I was standing out there. Time seemed to flow by. Then I heard him.

"Dinner's ready," I heard someone say nervously.

I didn't even need to turn around to know it was my district partner, Jute. Everyone else on board were Avoxes, which kind of narrowed down my guesses.

"Thank you," I said quietly, hoping I would get some peace and quiet. I listened and thought I heard him leave. I just kept staring at the ground.

"Are you coming?" he asked again. I had to stop myself from groaning. Couldn't he tell I wanted to be alone?

"No," was my only reply.

"All right then," he said and I could hear him coming closer. He stood next to me in silence. Why wouldn't he just leave? Weren't all guys obsessed with food?

"Are you going to leave?" I asked after another minute of silence.

"Not until you do." He firmly said. I wanted to argue, but I had a feeling it wouldn't help. Jute seemed like the kind of guy who was extremely stubborn once he made up his mind. I tried to cheer myself up. Usually I was such an optimistic person, but right now I was beyond depressed. I was in the Hunger Games, my mentor and escort were dead, my family was in pain, and eighty people died today. That's more than three Hunger Games full of tributes.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked. I sighed.

"Do you really want to know?" I asked. He nodded and I sighed again. For some reason, I felt oddly compelled to tell him everything. Which is what I did.

I told him about my family and what I was feeling. I opened up to him, which I found extremely stupid. I would probably end up killing him eventually, and here I was showing him me. What an idiot I could be.

"Well, you have me," he said after I was ranting about how I had no one since everyone was kind of dead or back in District Eight…or both.

I looked at him and stared into his bright green eyes. That's the second I think I started falling for Jute. The moment I looked into those green eyes.

"Yeah…I guess I do," I said. "You want to go to dinner now?"

"I thought you'd never ask," he exclaimed and I giggled. He was hungry! Just too stubborn to leave! We walked to the dining car and ate. We joked around and laughed a lot. Suddenly, the train stopped. I looked at the platform door. It opened and I could feel my eyes go huge.

"Say hello to your new mentors, kiddies?" one of our new mentors said playfully. They weren't Capitol idiots. Oh no.

They were victors from District Two.

District Two was one of the harshest career districts and I so did not want to be trained by these two. The girl's name was Lonius. She was hard core. She killed almost all of the tributes…with a rock. Not a sharp rock but a big, blunt rock which she used to bludgeon them to death.

The other one was a bit nicer. I didn't know his name but I recalled his Games. He would trap his victims and would feed them. Then, when he captured another one, he let them fight with the promise that he would let the victor go. The one that lived he would kill anyways.

"Who's first for training?" the mystery mentor said. I gulped down my food. I was really missing crazy Raylin…I was missing him a lot.

**Capital:**

**Peach's POV:**

"How are the finishing touches going?" Lavender asked as she strutted in. I looked up nervously. I was now one of the head scientists, because she killed the last one for making a mutation the wrong color.

"Everything's going great. Scarecrow Kid is almost complete," I said nervously. Lavender came and inspected the mutation. This year, we weren't just making mindless mutts. Oh no. This year she was making us give them personalities…minds of their own. This one had memories of friends that left him and now all he wanted was someone to play with forever. I didn't know what Lavender had in store for him.

You see, I just gave them the personalities, minds, memories, and other personal things. Lavender was the one who put made their weapons. Last year, I made a mutt that thought she was a little girl, but she was actually a cat mutt. Lavender gave her claws and other atrocious physical weapons. I didn't even want to know what she would do to Scarecrow Kid. So far, he had the clothes on of the typical scarecrow and looked like a real boy. I doubted she would keep him that way.

"I am very pleased, Peach," Lavender exclaimed gleefully. I smiled timidly. This woman was insane!

"Send him to my personal laboratory in two hours," she commanded.

I nodded, "Two hours sharp!"

Right now, were in the underground laboratories underneath the Capital. There were quite a lot. I was in one of the newly developed ones for making a mutt's personality. Before it would just be to kill any tribute, but not anymore. Not since Lavender took over as Head Gamemaker. There were laboratories for the mutts' bodies, special skills, and other thing. There were even ones that weren't for mutts at all, but I didn't know what was in them. I wasn't allowed in them since my job didn't deal with whatever was in those rooms.

"Thanks! I can always count on you," Lavender smiled. Then she left the room and I slumped into my chair. I was so relieved. I leaned over the table and stoked the boy's face. He looked just like a kid…I wanted to save him. He was pretty much a person. He wasn't made from a human, but he now had a personality. Before I didn't mind, because the mutts were killing machines but this boy wasn't anything like that…

I sighed. I would love to help him but then Lavender would find out I tampered with her idea. Then I would be dead…maybe I would be better off dead?

I rubbed the temples of my head. Why did I ever sign up for this job? I wanted to get away from my - at the time husband - abusive ex-husband, but was this any better? Creating things to only have them destroyed? I made more mutts this year than I had ever made for any games. I was thirty and I felt like I was losing every single one of my children to Lavender.

That witch was evil! Ugh, I kind of hated her…only kind of though. She was super sweet to me. I just saw her be a total witch to everyone else…ugh life was so confusing. I sat down and kept looking at Scarecrow Kid. What would she do to him? This poor little mutt had no idea what he was getting into…I wished with all my heart he could be in any other Hunger Games but these…

**Review! And vote on the poll on my profile :D! Also, I am so excited for the next chapter. You guys will find out the Quell :D watch as you guys think its so stupid :D haha anywho, review and vote and ill try to update as soon as I can!**


	14. Chariot Rides

**Chariot Rides:**

**District Nine:**

**Vijay's POV:**

"Vijay, wake up," I heard someone say sternly. I opened my eyes to find my escort standing above me.

"Okay," I mumbled. My escort left quickly without warning to wake up my District Partner. I threw the sheets off and quickly got dressed. I walked to the breakfast table and loaded my plate up. If I was going to die in a few days, then I was going to die with a full belly. My mentors, along with my escort, came in. I was about to question them about where _she_ was when I saw Alix come in with her hair soaked.

It wasn't wet from a shower.

She sat down next to, since it was the last available seat, and started stabbing her food. She wasn't getting along with anyone. Our escort was terrified of her, our mentors respected her but also found her a bit demanding, and I just thought she was a mean, bitter girl.

"Are you guys looking forward to the Chariot Rides this evening," our escort asked cheerfully.

"I was looking more forward to it before you dumped a glass full of ice cold water on my head," Alix spat.

"It's your own fault for not getting up on time," I mumbled. I thought I was quiet enough for her not to hear.

Apparently not quiet enough.

Her head whipped towards me with her blue eyes glaring at me. They were full of annoyance and malice.

"Say something like that again and I will beat you so hard that your unborn children will feel it!" she threatened.

I felt my hot temper begin to rise, "Like you could hurt me," I growled.

Her eyes flashed with anger again. Her hand was at my throat in seconds. Dang, this girl was fast! I grabbed her wrist and her fingernails dug into my neck. I could feel it penetrate the skin.

"Don't. Cross. Me." Her eyes held one thing now. The truth. If I crossed her she wouldn't think twice about hurting me. Now, would she think twice about killing me? Yes, this was just a girl underneath all this malice. But hurting me…no I couldn't say she would think twice about breaking a bone or two.

"I'll keep that in mind," I stated. She dropped her hand and stormed back into the hallway. She was probably going into her room to change.

"Oh, Vijay…you might want to go fix that…" one of my mentors whispered.

I didn't know what she was talking about until her eyes looked right at my neck. I put my hand where her nails had been and took them away. Blood. She drew fricking blood! That stupid little girl!

"She's going to _burn_!" I yelled. I grabbed the burning candle and ran down the hallway. I heard my mentors behind me. Alix turned around and saw me running towards her. She sprinted down the hallway at lightning speed. She quickly went into her bedroom. I stopped right in front of it and kicked it. I kept kicking it and until it started splintering. By then my mentors were there holding me off.

They sat me back down in the kitchen and told me not to move. I did as they told since they did hold the key between my life and death. After fifteen minutes, Alix remerged. I stayed completely still. The train stopped and I got up to exit the train. We stood next to each other and I had to hold myself back again. I was so angry…I just wanted to strangle her.

The door opened and I was greeted by flashing cameras. We stepped out into the crowd and tried to make it to the Remake Center. I had it easy. All of them were interested in Alix, but not me at all. I pushed myself through the crowd and made it into the Remake Center within five minutes.

I waited for one of my mentors to show up, but they didn't. I kept waiting and the only thing that got me to move was seeing Alix getting closer and closer. I took a right down the first hallway I found. I could find my room by myself! I finally found a staircase and I went up. I kept going up until it stopped, which was on floor four. I walked out into the hallway and took a left.

I wasn't lost…I just had to find another stairwell! This building was way bigger than four floors! I turned a sharp corner and ran right into someone. We both fell to the ground.

"I'm so sorry!" We both said at the same time. I looked up to see the District Four male tribute, Charlie, sitting there. We both got up and brushed ourselves off. We were competition…we shouldn't even be talking…

"Are you lost," he asked. I just nodded. I really had no idea where I was anymore.

"You're on floor nine, since you're from District Nine. There's an elevator over there." He stated. I looked over and groaned. How could I have been so stupid to have walked past and elevator! I nodded my thanks and walked to the elevator. I pushed the up button and boarded it. So far, things weren't going my way. The person I was supposed to trust, my district partner, hated me and we were at each other's throats. Then I start liking a different tribute that is most likely a career! How could today get any worse! Then the elevator stopped and the lights turned off. This was just great. Made my day even better! I sat down and waited. They would fix this…eventually…

**District Twelve:**

**Dusk's POV:**

"All right, see you later Dusky!" Olive yelled. She ran over and gave me a huge kiss on the cheek. I froze. I had to get away from this girl! I sat down and she went to her prep room. I looked up to see one of my mentors, Cody, staring at me. He was the only one I could trust. Olive was a slut, Ophelia was her mother, and the Capital escort was, well, an escort!

"That girl is crazy," was all I mumbled before I walked into my prep room. I shut the door behind me to thankfully find no one in here. I sat down in one of the chairs and relaxed. This was the first time since the waiting room back home I got to relax, and that was for about two minutes!

As soon as I got on the train it was mayhem. Olivia, who corrected me immediately that it was Olive, was attached at the hip with me! She followed me around, would randomly kiss me, and was hanging all over me. She even snuck into my bed last night! I woke up to find her sleeping there! I had no idea what was wrong with her but normal people did not do those things! She was such a ditz and a floozy that she would surely die in the bloodbath. She would probably end up skipping around trying to make out with the Careers before they killed her in the bloodbath!

The door slammed open and shut and my eyes shot open. Standing in front of was my prep team. I was scared for my life.

"This just won't do," the first one complained. She was bright pink everywhere. Skin, hair, and clothes. Even eyes!

"I know look at that _hair_" one o the boys snarled. He had bright purple hair but looked normal besides that.

"His skin complexion is terrible," the last one growled. I had no idea if it was a he or she. It looked pretty much like a cat.

"We'd better get started," they said together. They swarmed me like a plague of locusts. They told me to strip, which I did and then they inspected me some more. First they threw me into a bath of what felt like acid. They scrubbed me from head to toe and I thought I was going to die right there and then!

It only got worse.

They put me in another bath that soothed the wounds, but scrubbed me even more. They scrubbed so hard I thought I was going to bleed. They cut my hair off so it looked "normal". I personally liked it kind of longer but whatever. They didn't cut it crew cut so I was okay with it.

They did a lot of other things that confused me. They cut my nails and pampered me a bit. I felt like a lab rat. Finally, it was over. They told me to sit back down and they went and got the stylist. They came back with her and I was even more terrified.

"Hello…how are you?" she hissed. She looked exactly like a snake. The skin…the eyes…everything! I remember her being the stylist for District Seven…she must have gotten demoted after last year's District Seven costumes sucked.

"I'm fine…" I said cautiously. She smiled and I thought I was going to puke. Of course she would have snake fangs.

"Just change into this…there is nothing else I can do with you." She hissed again. With that, she walked out and left me alone. She really didn't like being demoted I guess…

I put it on and knew right away this was a bad idea. I finally found a mirror and looked at myself. Of course they would go for sexy coal miner the year I am in it. It was short and revealing and…disgusting! What was wrong with my stylist! I stormed out of the room and looked around. The rest of my team, mentors and Olive, were standing by the elevator.

"There you are! I missed you sooooooo much!" Olive cried. She ran over to me and jumped into my arms. I caught her out of surprise.

"I thought I might never see you again," she moaned. I just groaned.

"Can I put you down? You are really bugging me," I admitted. I let go of her and she landed on her feet. Her lip turned into a big pout.

"I'm annoying you, am I? Well, I'll just have to make it up to you," she said seductively. I gulped. I had seen that look before. She did that look right before she full on kissed me once.

"No…no you don't I just need some…uh…inspiration?" I babbled. I was getting really freaked out and that was the first word that came to mind.

"Does _this_ inspire you," she whispered right before she gripped a, uh, rather private area of mine.

"Whoa!" I said and backed up.

"All right, time to go," Cody said nervously. I looked at Ophelia who seemed to be trying not to burst out laughing. What did that woman teach her daughter! Certainly nothing that would keep her alive in the Hunger Games!

We went down the elevator, with Cody in between us, and made it to the stables. It was just a huge room with Chariots in it but I heard everyone calling it the stables. We walked in and were one of the last tributes there. The only other district that wasn't here yet seemed to be District Nine.

We went to our chariot and got set up. Everyone else was checking the horses and harnesses, which left Olive and me alone again.

"Dusky," Olive whined.

I replied with a simple, "Yes?"

"Why do you hate me," she asked innocently. I could think of plenty of reasons. She snuck into my bed; she has kissed me far too many times without my permission, and just groped me!

"I don't hate you…strongly dislike maybe…"

"Ah," she said. It wasn't that understanding kind of ah. It was that ah someone made after being highly insulted. The worst part is she made is very high pitch and loud. Everyone was looking at us now.

"You heartbreaker!" she cried. She slapped me right across the face. "I'll just have to move on from you," she moaned. I opened my mouth. "No! Don't speak! This will be far easier if we just go our separate ways without…goodbyes!" she sobbed. Everyone was looking at her as if she was crazy. Well, she was. One thing I knew for sure. She would probably not get an alliance and no one was going to take her seriously, she made sure of that just now. Way to screw yourself over, idiot.

**District Eleven:**

**Melody's POV:**

I stood in my chariot feeling stupid. At first, when I saw my outfit I felt great. It looked fabulous. We were supposed to look like the birds that flew around our district. My dress had the same colors and looked amazing! I thought for sure we would be the most amazing tributes. Then we made it down here to see the other tributes.

I gazed up ahead at District One. The Chariot Rides were about to start and I knew they were the best ones. You see, District Three had been the best because their stylist had been very creative with lights and changing colors. He got promoted to District One, which is what made them the best this year.

The Chariots started moving and I knew the reaction District One would get. You see, their dress and tuxedo were encrusted with many gems…the catch was that they changed color. It was n' just the gems either. It was their accessories, parts of their skin, even their eyes! It was a giant light of changing colors. Rouge and Alex looked like gods.

Their Chariot made it out into the Capital and the cheers were outstanding. They were so loud that I thought my ear drums might break. I looked at the TV screen they kept in here for us to watch while we waited. They were both smiling and waving. They were playing it up so well, treating them all like they were their best friends.

District Two went next and their outfit was good too. It was a black tuxedo and dress. The catch was it kept changing hues of grey and black. It was pretty but they were easily outshined by District One. I saw them trying the same tactic as District One, which was to smile and wave. Right now Isis and Saturn appeared to be District One wannabes, which was a bad choice on their part.

District Three was still great. Their new stylist had talent as well. Their dress and tuxedos were a simple blue…but then they turned them on. Different colors of pure electricity shot through Hali's dress. It was the same with Solder's tuxedo. It was different, which would help them with the crowd. Their attitude, however, did nothing to help. Solder just stared ahead and pretended the crowd didn't exist. Hali, however, was acting cute and shy. She would give everyone this shy little smile that made her fourteen year old self look twelve and adorable.

District Four was mediocre, at best. Their dress and tuxedo was the same color as District Three, without the lightening. Rapids and Charlie were going to look like District Three wannabes. So far, the Chariot Rides were not going well this year. Little did I know it was just going to get worse.

They went out and had very different approaches. Rapids literally glared at everyone. She looked like she was going to leap into the audience and _kill_ someone. Charlie was smiling and waving. He just ate up all the attention.

District Five was next and I wanted to laugh out loud. They were beakers. Paloma and Neal were just beakers and I saw random bubbles coming out near their neck. They went out into the Capital and I could see the anger radiating off of Paloma. She just stared straight ahead and tried not to be embarrassed. Neal was bright red and did the same thing as Paloma. No one really clapped for them…that had to suck…

The sad thing is that District Six was probably the worst ones yet. They were dressed as angels of healing. Pretty much that meant both of them looked like cupid. The only difference between to two of them was that Abby was more covered than Quince. Their chariot went out into the Capital and there was no applause for them. Everyone else looked better and their acting didn't help. Abby looked like she wanted to cry and Quince wasn't doing much better.

District Seven was amazing. Bree's dress was made of different color leaves, which made her look like fall. Link's suit had the same effect, except he didn't look as graceful. He looked very handsome in the tuxedo and I could tell they were going to get sponsors. Right before they went out, I could tell they were arguing. They went outside into the Capital and were still arguing. Everyone cheered for them and they immediately stopped. Bree waved like a madwoman, while Link just stared off ahead.

District Eight I felt bad for. I had no idea what their stylists were thinking! Their outfits were made of mismatched cloth and they looked like beggars. The one thing they did that helped their chances for attention, though, was hold hands. They were the first ones to do that this time. They went out smiling and waving. People cheered for them a little, but not much.

District Nine was wonderful. They were dressed in skin tight hunting suits. Alix's was black and very form fitting. Vijay's was white and also very form fitting. They looked like polar opposites, which is what made them so spectacular. They went out into the Capital and their approach was very different. Vijay was smiling shyly, while Alix was _flirting_ with the audience. She looked like she wanted to kiss every single one of the Capital's citizens.

District Ten was okay. They were dressed as shepherds, which didn't stand out. What they did do, however, was something I had never seen! They didn't ride in the chariot. They rode on the horses pulling the chariot. They smiled and waved, while the Capital ate it up. They all seemed to love Natalie and Conium.

Now it was my turn. I was truly terrified but I put on my best happy face. We went out and I waved as much as I could. I tried to act sweet and kind, but I wasn't sure if I was succeeding. People paid attention to us, but we definitely weren't show stoppers. Apparently the District behind us was.

I glanced at one of the huge screens to see it go from District One to District Twelve quickly. I looked behind me and gasped. Olive was stripping. She was taking the sexy miner outfit way to far! Of course, she did seem like a bit of a drama queen today in the stables…but after this she is just a little slut! She finally became naked and was showing her stuff to everyone in the Capital. She was kind of pretty, but when you compared her to some of the other girls she failed in comparison. Of course, the other girls weren't naked…gosh okay new topic!

I started paying attention to the Capital audience. It all flew by so fast. I got into a rhythm of waving and blowing kisses. We finally made it to the City Circle and I felt my stomach start to knot up. We waited until President Raven came out on her little platform. She looked at us all with a smile. A smile that didn't reach her eyes. Her eyes seemed black…as if she were the Grim Reaper herself.

She drew out the Quarter Quell card. She looked at it again and smiled. She took it back out of the envelope and read.

"On the two hundred twenty-fifth anniversary of the Hunger Games, as a reminder to the rebels that during the rebellion the Capital always had its back up troop and that there can only be one true victor, every tribute that dies will be replaced by one of their loved ones. Everyone who has ever been close with the tribute is eligible for the Reaping and only those two and younger are exempt. Also, no volunteering is allowed. The backup troops will be shown after the recap of the Chariot Rides tonight. Thank you."

I felt my hard break. No…no not my friends…or my brother…or my parents. God no! This wasn't fair! They shouldn't be allowed to take my place if I died! No…no. I felt the world start to spin before it all went black.

**District Ten:**

**Natalie's POV:**

"Sit down! You obviously need something to drink," my escort fretted. She was worried about me…I hadn't talked since the announcement. Mack had his arms around me. That's what I called my district partner since his last name was Macula-something. He said I could call him Conny, but I turned him down. Mack sounded better.

How could the President do this to us! How could she not get rid of it and make a new one! This was too cruel! If we weren't strong enough our loved ones would pay. Of course, if I won then my loved one would be safe. It said if we died we would be replaced. Then I just had to not die…plus even if I did die they could win…right? Hypothetically, if I died and my loved one made it to the end and killed everyone, he or she would be the victor.

Ugh, there were far too many variables. There were forty-eight tributes this Hunger Games. The sick thing was that it could be anyone. It could be someone's mother! I might end up killing a forty-eight year old woman who thought she would never be Reaped after thirty years ago when she made it past that last Reaping!

I felt sick to my stomach. The Capital was so happy. They were saying this was going to be the best Hunger Games yet! There was so much wrong with them. I was disgusted to even be here now. My escort came with water and thanked her. She was so sweet. She may be really stupid, but she was one of the sweetest people I had ever met.

I watched the Chariot Rides replay. The camera was mainly focused on District One, District Three, and District Nine. We got quite a few moments since we were riding the horses and District Twelve got a lot of spotlight moments. What a little slut that girl was. No way would she make it very far…what an idiot I was for ever thinking she was a threat.

It was finally over when it zoomed up on the District Eleven girl who passed out. I maintained my composure by becoming empty. I knew tonight, by myself, I would be sobbing but I couldn't do it in public; I wouldn't allow myself.

It was time for the Quell Reapings. They didn't show us the actual Reapings, but it was like how we saw training scores. First the District One boy's picture shimmered up. Then next to his popped up a picture of a girl. Under it there was her name Olivia. She looked like she could be his sister, but I bet more than anything it was his girlfriend.

Rouge's picture popped up next. Then a picture shimmered up next to her of a boy. At first I guessed it was her boyfriend…but then I saw the eyes. They had the same ice blue eyes. His name was Silk.

Saturn's picture was next, along with a girl named Constantine. She was blonde and very pretty. Girlfriend I suspected, but I could be wrong.

Isis' picture was next. I waited and wondered who would be close to Isis. A picture of an oldish woman popped up. Her name was Brielle and I suspected her to be her mother.

Solder's person was definitely his mother. She couldn't be anything else. Her name was Agrippa and she looked just like him. I felt my heart slowly breaking. People's mothers, brothers, and lovers were being reaped. The Capital was so wrong. I hated them for this. Every single last one of them.

The little girl Hali was next. The picture that popped up was of her little brother. He couldn't be more than eight and he looked just like her. His name was Ben and my heart broke. He wasn't even old enough for regular reaping…this was despicable.

It went through more Districts and I felt my heart break a little more. Only a few really stood out. Charlie's lover. I could tell when I saw her at the Reapings. Her name was Claire. Neal's little sister, Hali, who volunteered for him at the Reapings. Other people's ten year old siblings and mothers.

Then it was Mack's turn. A picture shimmered of a girl named Danius. She looked beautiful, but then I realized she and I looked a lot alike. The only difference was our eyes. Was this why Mack was so intent on protecting me…I didn't know but I was a little crept out by this new fact.

Then it was my turn and I felt like I was going to puke. My picture showed up. I prayed it would be my father. My father could win if I died…just don't let it be…and it was. My best friend Ann was reaped. It was all my fault that she might die…I closed my eyes. I felt Mack leave…he couldn't take this anymore…but I had to see the rest…

I saw Jakov's girlfriend, Eliza. I heard him call her Shadow once but the Capital used her real name. Melody's friend, Taint. This is where I had to run from the room. Dusk's grandpa…he looked eighty and like he couldn't even move! As I ran, I saw Olive's brother, Oscar. I ran straight to my room and into the bathroom. I puked my guts out. Then I laid on the bed and wept. I cried for all the injustice in the world. I cried for Ann. I cried because I would never escape. I was forever trapped…

**District One:**

**Rouge's POV:**

I run. I run because I have nowhere else to go. I run because I don't want to deal with Alex right now. I run because I don't want to see Agatha's sympathizing eyes or Copper's hard start. I run because my escort is chasing after me, trying to calm me down. I run because my brother just got reaped.

I hitched up my dress and keep running. I'm so glad the battery died and that the chemicals in my eyes wore off. Now it was just a dress. A beautiful, but not stunning, dress. I ran faster and faster. I finally took off my heels and threw them back towards my escort. I kept running until I found a stairwell. I couldn't go down…that's where those monsters were! With their cameras and evil minds! Those monsters who would enjoy watching me and my brother die!

I ran upwards. One step at a time. I flew by the stories. I knew by now my escort must be done chasing me but I couldn't stop. I felt like the world was crashing down around me. This was my entire fault…if I wouldn't have volunteered my brother wouldn't be in danger! I felt like I couldn't breathe! I had to get out of here! I made it to the twelfth floor, but it kept going up. Which is what I did too. The thirteenth floor was the highest it went. I ran out the door and gasped. I was on the roof…how was there even access to the roof? Weren't they worried about tributes jumping off and dying? No…there must be some force field or something…they hadn't lost a tribute yet. I saw the Capital and gasped. I always thought District One was a mini version of the Capital. I was so wrong…

I kept walking until I found a weird garden. I felt the tears streaming down my face. Then I saw I wasn't alone. I wiped my tears and stared at him. It was the man from District Seven. The big strong one…the one who had the weird tattoo on his shoulder…the one that I would most likely have to kill.

"Are you going to stand there staring all night, Beauty Queen," he said.

I was shocked. How had he heard me? I was usually so silent…of course right now I felt like I was a trapped animal. I was so emotionally and physically exhausted. I was done acting like I was friends with those monsters…I was just done with everything…

"What did you just call me!" I gasped.

"I think you heard me."

"Why would you call me that!" I shouted.

'They really are idiots in District One," he laughed. It was such a cold laugh… "You look just like them," he said, pointing to the city. I could hear the hatred in his voice as he said that last word.

I felt my anger start to flare up. I did not need this right now! "_You_ think _I'm_ an idiot! This is coming from someone from District Seven!" I just laughed coldly. "Also, I look nothing like them," I say icily.

He finally looks at me with those dark brown eyes. "Please, you're every sponsors dream," he said mockingly.

That's when I lose it! My temper goes wild. It's due to not only the tiredness I am feeling, but because of the fact I have been suppressing every emotion I had been feeling for the past few days. "Who the hell do you think you are! You don't know the first thing about me! I doubt you even know my name!"

"I know you've trained to kill your entire life. I know you would kill me in a second if you could, Beauty Queen." He sneered.

"Will you stop calling me that! My name is Rouge!" I shout.

"That explains so much," he gloated. I something of a smirk across his face.

"Will you just leave! I want to be alone!" I hissed.

I sat down and glared at me, "I was here before you."

"Then you aren't polite or civil at all when it comes to ladies," I insulted.

He smirked again, "Never said I was."

I walked over to the raised wall on the roof. I turned my back away from him. I felt another tear roll down my face and I quickly wiped it away. What would my stupid father say if he saw me right now? What would that unforgiving bastard say? The one who hit me for the first time when I started crying at the age of six when I said I didn't want to train for the Hunger Games.

I think about what I must look like right now. Blotchy skin from crying…dress all faded…and my hair has lost its glow. No one would want to sponsor me if they saw me now… I can tell my new found tiredness and insanity are finding me when I start to giggle at that thought. It gets even more insane when I pull myself onto the ledge and start to balance. Then I do what I always do. I dance. That was always my passion…dancing. I danced across the ledge. I decided ballet was the most suitable for this…whatever "this" was.

"What are you doing," I hear him ask worriedly.

"I thought I could see if I could dance across the sky, District Seven," I say sarcastically.

I keep dancing across the ledge. I even do a few leaps. The exhilaration is amazing! I feel so free…would it really be so bad to take on wrong step and come crashing down. I would stop the Capital from being entertained by my death and I would be free…maybe even my brother would be let go…

I don't get to think about it much longer when I feel a pair of strong hands grab me and yank me down off the wall.

He yells, his voice sounding like a cannon in the silence, "Don't you even think about it!"

I feel my anger rise back to the surface, "Why not? Do you really want to try to kill me in the arena that badly!" I yell back.

"If you did that…it wouldn't be pretty…" he mumbled.

"And that wouldn't do, will it!" I scream. I try to pull myself from his grasp. He doesn't let go, as if I will throw myself off the building if he does. I don't see why he cares so much, "I'm sure that it would be terrible if I didn't look my best! As if I will care how I look when I'm trying to win these stupid games!"

"I don't understand why you are so angry," he grunts, "You chose this!"

"That shows how much you know," I snarl. I keep trying to yank my arm away from him. I feel so angry right now. For some reason, I couldn't act like I didn't care right now! I tried even harder to pull away but he kept his grip.

"Why are you so pissed!" he yelled.

"Let me go!" I yell. I try to punch him with my free arm but he won't let go.

"Tell me!" He demands.

"It depends," I hiss.

"On what," he asks.

"Do you want the truth, or something beautiful? It's impossible to have both." I whisper before I start sobbing. Floods of tears start pouring down my face. He swings his other arm around my waist and carries me back to the garden. He holds me while I sob into his chest.

Then I told him. For some reason, I bared my soul to this stranger. This man whose name I don't even know. I told him about my father and the forced marriage. I told him about my brother and how it was my entire fault. I told him everything and let him see me. I didn't act cold like I did to everyone else. I didn't act friendly like I did with Alex. I just acted like me. I acted like a hurt, broken me. I finally was myself with this man who I would end up killing. I keep sobbing until all the tears are gone. Then I just sit there, too comfortable to move.

"Not everyone gets to pick their destiny, Rouge," he whispers after several minutes of silence. "You need to keep fighting. Otherwise they win and you lose. You really think letting yourself die will save your brother? They will just make him the tribute and used a different loved one as his backup. Is that what you want? I know it isn't. Keep fighting. Don't ever let them win…"

I was shocked by the lack of hate in his voice. I would end up killing him in less than a week…I was the one trained to kill, yet I felt vulnerable. I finally realized what was going on. Where my head and emotions were headed. I hopped out of his lap and walked over to the fountain.

I take a huge breath and glare at him, "This never happened…you understand."

"Whatever you say, Beauty Queen."

"So we are back to that, are we?"

"It's not Rouge I'm talking too. You put your mask back on."

It hits me so hard when he says that. My entire life I have been wearing a mask so that no one can see me. I hate the Hunger Games. I hate the Capital. Most of all, I hate how people can never look past my looks to see the real me. No one has ever known this, and yet I just told all of this to a simple District Seven lumberjack. I could never take it back. The problem is revealed when I realized that I didn't want to take it back.

I just walk away. When I reach the stairwell, I realize there is an elevator. I groan. Why didn't I take that to begin with? I press the button and then I hear him.

"This never happened on one condition," he yelled. I glanced back at him. "No more thoughts of dancing across the sky," he yelled. I felt a small smile shoot across my face before I wiped it clean. I stepped onto the elevator and pressed the one button. I shot down to floor one. The doors opened and I walked onto my floor. Everyone must have been asleep since no one was out in the main area. I ran to my bedroom and shut the door. I unzipped my dress and slid into bed. I tried to clear my head, but his face kept showing up. That's when I realized I was falling in love. That terrified me more than the Hunger Games…

**Tell me what you think! Review! Also, credit to caisha702 for practically writing the Rouge scene XD go check out her stories because they are amazing**

**As for the Quarter Quell, here is the explanation for all of you. You all filled out person closest to your tribute on your form. That's the person who was reaped, if you will. If your tribute dies, they will be replaced by the person closest to them. This mean there is forty-eight tributes. Any one of them can win. The advantage your tribute is they get to train while the loved ones do not. The disadvantage is a loved one could be put in the arena during the final twelve and miss the carnage of thirty-six other people. So tell me if this is a good quarter quell or not! **

**Also, tell me about the chariot rides too and then the romance scene at the end haha also, don't forget to vote on the poll on my profile :D**


	15. Training: Day One

**Training Day 1:**

**District Two:**

**Saturn's POV:**

I woke up with a spring in my step. Yesterday may have sucked but today was the first day of training! How could I not look forward to today? Today was the day I got to show what my skills were and start to assess my competition. Plus, today I had to hone my skills if I wanted to save Constantine… I walked into the bathroom and took a quick shower. I dried off as quickly as possible and put on a blue shirt with black pants. I put my token around my neck and held it. It was a medallion around a heavy gold chain. It went through inspection fairly quickly since there was no way this could be turned into a weapon. Well, I could swing it around and hope to give some people bumps on their heads, but I personally think medallion versus sword is not a fair match.

"Are you up yet?" Sparkler exclaimed. I turned towards the door to see her practically jumping up and down. This was all just a game to her. Of course, wasn't that all it was to me?

"What do you think," I joked. I held my arm out and she linked hers in it. We walked to breakfast together. She just babbled the entire time while I listened. I did that pretty well. Listening, I mean. I never minded letting other people having the spotlight. Made my screwed up self less noticeable.

"Well, it's about time," I heard someone hiss. I just ignored my escorts. They were pretty hard core. Julius and Diana were probably two of the most renowned victors in District Two. Both had very different, yet effective, strategies. Julius was the Career leader, but I did anything but unify his group. He stirred the pot until finally all the Careers killed each other. Then it was just him and one other Career. They hunted down tributes before Julius stabbed him in the back too. Diana's plan was so unheard of for a Career District that no one thought she would win. She ran away from the Cornucopia and disappeared. No one saw her again until the final eight. Then she just let the other tributes kill each other and picked the last one off. It definitely wasn't the Career thing to do.

"Give him a break! He is not that late," Isis argued. It was true. I was probably five minutes late, tops.

"Are you talking back to me, missy," Julius grunted.

"So what if I am," she said bluntly. They just looked at each other. They weren't really glaring…it was more of who was the most dignified looking. Who was of better breeding. You know, the superiority argument.

"Just checking," Julius grunted. We all ate our breakfast and walked to the elevator. The entire time our mentors giving us advice. Play nice with the other careers…don't kill anyone….intimidate the competition…you know, the usual stuff. Sparkler, on the other hand, was fussing over my hair. Apparently it was a bit odd looking…whatever.

We left our odd team at the elevator. Then it was just me and Isis in the elevator. We didn't talk. She had tried to flirt with me a little on the train. It didn't work for her so she moved on. She was a smart girl; I had to give her that much credit. I glanced over at her to see her primping her hair in the reflective walls. I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing. This girl was far to obsessed with her looks.

The elevator opened and we stepped out. We were one of the first ones here. The only other tributes here were from District Six. They were standing in a corner talking to each other. What weaklings! Eventually, everyone showed up. The Head Trainer, Chiron, explained the rules to us. No killing or maiming. That was pretty much the only important one. The rest wouldn't get us in too much trouble. When he clapped for us to break, the District One guy cleared his throat.

"Anyone who wants to try out for the Careers, please make a line in district order against that wall." I just looked at him for a minute. Was he serious? I had half a mind to argue, but I decided against it. It looked like this guy had a plan…and if I messed with it I expected it would be against me. I walked over to the wall and stood in front of Isis. I was going to let her go first, but she must have had a little bit of stage fright.

"Let's begin with the Career try outs," he ordered. I looked at him…his name was Alex! It would be good to remember that…

I stepped forward. "State your name and district," he said.

"Saturn Everett. I'm from District Two." I stated. He looked at me for a good fifteen seconds. I could tell he was observing me.

"Show me what you got," he ordered.

I walked over to the knife station. Alex and the rest of the people trying out followed. I grabbed two of them. I couldn't seem to find a whip of any sort… darn. I looked at one of the dummies and focused on it. I raced towards it and started my attack. I slashed it and battled with it. I didn't know how long I was attacking the dummy, but by the end it was many different pieces. An Avox was sweeping the pieces away when I turned around and looked at Alex.

He looked at me for another fifteen seconds. I tried to stay confident but I felt my insides shaking. I didn't like it when people were assessing me…I usually did that…

"You're in. Come stand by me. Next!" he yelled. I let out a huge breathe and walked over to him. I shook his hand and looked at the other tributes trying out for the first time. There were quite a lot of people. There was Isis, the District Four male, the female from seven, both from nine, the male from eleven, and the girl from twelve. I looked around to find the District One female and the District Four female. District One was at the edible plant station oddly enough. I saw District Four at a knot tying station. Well, at least they knew they weren't Career worthy.

"Isis Robertson. I am also from District Two! And, may I say, this is such a great idea of yours! Having try outs! You must be so smart! Brains, with looks to boot!" Isis exclaimed.

Alex looked at her for fifteen seconds. "If trying to butter people up is your only talent, I would just leave right now," he stated. I wanted to laugh. Again, Isis was smart, but did that make her Career material? Isis' smile was replaced with a smirk. A look came into her eyes that I had never seen before. She walked over to the sword station and grabbed a long, thin sword. She picked it up and started slicing a dummy. She finished and I was pleasantly surprised to see she had done a lot of damage.

"Is that enough for you," she hissed. She looked vicious out there, but what she did wasn't that impressive. It was between low career skills to average career skills.

"You're in. Next!" he shouted. I just looked at him in surprise. Why would he pick her?

"I'm Charlie Montgomery and I'm from District Four," Charlie stated. Alex assessed him. He nodded, which I assumed meant for him to go. He walked over to the knife station and picked up a pretty big knife. It was bigger than I preferred to use. He hacked and chopped at one of the dummies. He stepped back and he did some pretty big damage. I waited for Alex to accept him. If he accepted Isis, then he would accept this kid.

"Next!" Alex shouted. I glanced at him. I could tell by his face that since he didn't say he was in, it meant he wasn't. Charlie looked shocked, and then plain pissed. He stomped away and I stared after him in wonderment. Why Isis and not him? That's when it hit me. I saw Isis' face. She was vicious and ruthless. Charlie's skills may have been better than Isis', but he didn't have that spirit that Alex was looking for. Alex really didn't want the normal career pack, huh?

"I'm Bree Sulivan, and I'm from District Seven." She stated. She went over to the axe station and we followed. She swung it around and I was surprised at how skilled she was. She was pretty good for a non career. However, I knew Alex would say no. She didn't have that vicious spirit. She seemed too happy go lucky for this alliance.

"Next!" he yelled. I smiled. I was so right. Bree left with a smile on her face as well. That's when it really hit me hard. She wasn't using this to get in with the Careers. She wanted the other tributes to know she was good…she wanted an _alliance_, but not a Career alliance. Smart girl.

"I'm Vijay Blackman and I'm from District Nine." He stated. I gulped. He was pretty formidable…he went over to the sword station and found a shorter sword. He swung it around quickly and I was surprised how skilled he was with it. It wasn't that he was trained, but it was one of those natural things. His technique was crude and lacked skill, but he was a bit of a natural.

"Next!" Alex ordered. Vijay walked away quickly. I think he didn't think he had a chance. It was one of those he had nothing to lose kind of situations. Of course, he did have his life to lose, but that was besides that point.

"I'm Alix Van Airengrade and I'm from District Nine!" she exclaimed. Alex observed her before he nodded. I saw something there too. She had this look about her…it just said there was more than meets the eye. I was right. She walked over to the track. She waited until we were all there before she took off down the track. She was one of the fastest people I had seen in a long time. She didn't run for a long time, but it was such a fast sprint that I could imagine her chasing after a tribute during the bloodbath and taking them down. She walked back with a smile on her face. She knew she had done well. The question was, did she do well enough for Alex?

"You're in. Next!" he yelled. Her smile got even bigger. She came and stood between Isis and I. She batted her eyes at me. Oh great, another flirt.

"I already barked up that tree," Isis said icily, "It's not worth your breath."

Alix lost her flirty smile and glanced over at Isis. That comment is what begun the best friendship between the female careers. I could hear them gossiping to each other when the next person walked up.

"I'm Jakov Douglas, and I'm from District Eleven," he smirked. This kid had confidence. Let's see if it was well placed. Alex nodded and the kid walked over to the heavy weaponry station. He grabbed a mace and started swinging it around. The first few swings I literally thought he was just swinging and hoping that it hit something. It got better after that. It was the same kind of thing with Vijay. It was crude and very amateur, but there was something to work with. Something we could train.

"You're in. Next!" Alex commanded. The last tribute walked up and I wanted to groan. Olive had become quite the joke around here. Isis always made fun of her and I would have to if I every spoke my mind. I didn't know why she was trying out for the Careers. She had no skill, the other girls' would have a rebellion if she did make it, and no one liked her.

"I'm Olive Pendragon, and I'm from District Twelve," she giggled. She walked over to the knife station. She picked up a knife and threw it at one of the dummies. It missed the target and hit the wall, handle side. She then picked up another one and clumsily dropped it.

"Okay, we are done." Alex shouted. With that, he walked to the swords station and waited for the rest of us to meet back there with him. Everyone was looking at Olive. He eyes teared up and she ran out and into one of the bathrooms. What an idiot. No one respected her now that was for sure!

"This is the Career Pack. Any questions?" he asked. We all just kind of stared at each other. What kind of questions could we have? One popped into my head.

"Why didn't your district partner try out?" I asked curiously,

A smile crossed his face, "She's going rogue on us," he said simply. I just nodded. He was hinting she had skill, but just didn't want to be part of our alliance. Rogue…it sounded better than Rouge. I glanced over at her. If she did have skills, then she would be extra prepared if she spent all her time at survival stations. She had moved on to the fire making station. There were no other questions, so we split up. Isis and Alix went to the sword station together. Isis was going to try to teach Alix some things about a sword. I could tell they were going to be pretty buddy-buddy. That wasn't always the best thing. Jakov went over to the heavy weaponry station and tried out some other big weapons.

"Hey, Saturn." Alex said. I walked over closer to him. "I can tell you're observant, and you seem fairly reliable. You are going to be my right hand man, got it?" he ordered. I smiled to myself. Being number two in the Career Pack was a pretty good position to have. I nodded and smiled even wider. My chances just kept going up and up!

**District Six:**

**Abby's POV:**

"That was intense," Quince commented. I just nodded. We were both listening to the entire Career thing that just happened. It was a good thing to know your enemies….and, boy, were our enemies strong! I walked over to one of the stations. This year, there were a lot of weird stations. Usually they had stations that reflected what would be in the arena. If it was true, then our arena must be one screwed up place. They had a climate station, where you tried to endure different climates, an etiquette station (why we needed to learn etiquette I had no idea), and then a swimming station. Now, I remember a lot of tributes dying because they didn't know how to swim…why would they teach us now? Would our entire arena be filled with water? It must have some important task. Right now, the swimming station was all the rage. Every tribute wanted to learn how to swim. I decided I would go to the station that no one was at. The etiquette station.

The trainer perked up, "Why, hello there!" she exclaimed. She must be really surprised anyone would come to her station. She went into this giant speech. For some reason, she decided to tell me the entire history of etiquette. I could tell Quince was paying next to no attention, but I felt it must be relevant in some way. The part I paid the most attention too was people. There was different etiquette for different people. When you entered a store, you were supposed to act a certain way. When in the presence of royalty, you were supposed to act a completely different way otherwise you could be killed. I walked away from the station when she said she had nothing else to say.

"That was a waste of our time," Quince complained. I knew why he was upset. He wanted to train as hard as he could to save his little sister Piper. I wanted to save my father too, but I needed to try to learn everything that was new…I just shook my head. If it wouldn't help in the arena, then it would have to help in the interviews! One thing the Capital loved was politeness and courtesy.

"Where do you want to go next," he asked. I looked around. Quince told me he was good with traps…

"Why not the trap station?" I mentioned. His eyes light up and I giggled. He was so adorable when he got excited…I mean, happy….he was so happy when he got excited….

We walked briskly over to the trap station. The other people there were the tributes from eight and girl from four. Quince went head first into the trap everyone else was doing and made it at remarkable speed. I tried to keep up, but I found out quickly I didn't have a knack for traps. I would always miss one thing and that would ruin the next five steps. When Quince finished, everyone seemed pretty shocked at how perfect it was. It was as if he had made it before. Maybe he did, who knows…

"That's pretty nifty," the girl from eight said, "Would you mind showing me how you did that?"

"Sure," Quince said. Quince shoed her step by step how to do it. My mind started wandering. I noticed the girl from four was having some trouble as well.

"Do you need any help," I asked. She just glared at me.

"Not from you," she spat. She kept working on it and I went back to staring at my fail of a trap. I was just trying to be helpful…

"Don't mind her," the boy from eight whispered, "I tried to help her too and she slapped me across the face," He turned his head so I could see the right side of his face. There was a giant red welt there. I couldn't help but giggle.

"So, in al reality, she probably loves you since she didn't physically abuse you," he said happily. I just laughed some more. This guy was really nice…trying to cheer me up. I noticed the girl from four was glaring at us again. Crap, she thought we were laughing at her. She got up and stormed away. I sighed. I really didn't need any enemies.

"Wow! I can't believe it works," the girl from eight exclaimed. I looked over to see her trap now looking a lot like Quinces.

"Hey," the girl from eight said coolly, "Would you guys like to be allies?" I glanced over at Quince. We both nodded at each other, and then to the tributes from eight.

"My name is Quince, and this is Abby!" Quince exclaimed.

"I'm Azalea and this is Jute. Glad we are allies now," she cheered. We got up and started walking to wherever Azalea was headed. I tried to hide my limp as much as I could. Maybe with three allies I had a better chance of surviving! I glanced over at the girl from four and saw her glaring again. Maybe not…

**District Five:**

**Neal's POV:**

I groaned in defeat. I had spent all day at the swords station…I wasn't progressing any. I knew my forte was boxing but I didn't want every other tribute to know that. I put my sword down and closed my eyes. I couldn't give up. My little sister was depending on me! I opened my eyes and decided to give it one more go. I got into another match with the instructor. It was pretty intense and I tried my hardest. In the end, I lost again. I stood still and threw my sword at the ground.

I stood there seething with anger. Why couldn't I be better? I needed to be the best if I was going to win! I started rubbing my temples and tried not to shout. I just needed to calm down. I steadied my breathing and counted to ten. Right when I was about to be calm and civil again, I felt a giant bump from behind me.

My anger flared up again and I yelled, "Hey, watch where you're going!"

Silence.

I opened my eyes and turned around to see her. The girl from District Two, Isis. She had a smile on her face…but not the happy kind….it was the kind a cat gave a mouse before it ate it.

"Would you like to say that any louder? I don't think the District Twelve mentors heard you from down here," she hissed. I just gulped.

"I'm sorry," I tried backtracking.

"Sorry doesn't cut it," she exclaimed. She just glared at me and my anger came rushing back. I should be the one to be mad! Career or no career she was the one who bumped into me!

"Fine, then I'm not sorry. Happy now?" I asked.

She laughed a bit crazily. "Sure, why not? Now how about you go back to almost killing yourself with your own sword and we will just pretend this never happened."

"I'll do that if you go back to your stupid mirror and fix that thing on your head…oh wait, it's your face. My bad." I hissed. The smile completely vanished from her face and I held my ground. There was no backing down now.

The girl from nine came jogging over, "Be careful whose toes you step on today because they might be connected to the foot that kicks your ass tomorrow," she threatened.

"Wow, that's all you got? Not very creative," I growled.

The girl from nine's eyes flared, "You want creative?  
'Roses are red violets are blue  
sugar is sweet and so are you,  
but the roses are wilting, the violets are dead  
the sugar bowls empty and so is your head.'" She recited.

"Whatever. You both are just stupid airheads," I groaned. I was about to leave. I had pissed them off enough. Damn, I wasn't usually this angry but I think the Quarter quell is getting to me…

Isis' eyes looked completely insane. But it wasn't her gleeful insanity. There wasn't a hint of happiness upon her face.

"You _really_ shouldn't have gone and ran your mouth."

In two seconds Isis was on top of me screaming and trying to claw me. I tried to push her off but she had one good grip in my hair and the other hand was being raked down my face. I screeched in pain. I heard the hustle and bustle, and finally she was lifted off of me. The male from one was holding her while the girl from nine had her hands and was trying to calm her down. The other two careers stood close by and were trying not to laugh. I saw the medics coming. I put my hand to where she raked her nails down to find I was bleeding. A lot.

The lunch bell rang and I laughed aloud. That's ironic. The rest of the tributes get to go eat lunch while I get patched up from being attacked by a psychopath. This was just a peachy training day.

**District Twelve:**

**Olive's POV:**

What to do…what to do…

I stared at all the tables. I had nowhere to sit for lunch. The Careers thought I was a complete idiot, Dusk was avoiding me like I had the plague, and all the other tributes had no shred of respect for me. My plan was going perfect! I still found myself catching the eyes of a few of the girls. The girl from one, the girl from seven, and the girl from ten…I had a feeling I hadn't convinced them yet. I think in the back of their minds that they thought I could still be acting. I needed to fix that…now. If I wanted to survive so my twin brother wasn't put into the arena, than I needed to do whatever I could do to keep myself safe.

Then I saw the perfect opportunity,

"Dusky," I called loudly. He was walking to a table and I saw him pick up the pace.

"DUSKY WAIT UP!" I yelled. I ran after him and jumped onto his back. He staggered a bit, but kept us from tumbling to the ground.

"Where do you want to sit," I asked. I heard him groan.

"I thought I had gotten rid of you!"

"Well, I thought about our relationship…and really I shouldn't have gotten so upset at the Chariot Rides! I mean, it was just one little argument! I know we can work through it," I giggled. Come on, Olive, just a little more. You won't have to act forever.

"What relationship," he groaned, "This is such a drag!"

It was then I made my decision. This kid could be a threat, but he wasn't a threat in during the bloodbath. He was the perfect pawn.

"At least hear my offer," I whined. He looked at me.

"If I do, will you leave me alone?" he asked.

I moved my mouth close to his ear, "Most definitely," I whispered. He nodded and I giggled loudly. I grabbed his hand and pulled him out into the hallway. I glanced behind me to see everyone looking at us depart.

"So what's your offer," he asked as we stood outside the door way to the lunch room. The corridor was deserted, which was great for my plan. My fake smile dropped from my face.

"You're going to tell everyone that I screwed you so that you wouldn't kill me in the bloodbath," I commanded.

His eyes got a lot larger, "Why would I do that?" he asked.

I grabbed the knife I stole from the station out from underneath my shirt. I brought it up to his throat and glared at him, "So I don't kill you."

"You wouldn't! The Capital would never let you live!"

"It's hard to replace one tribute, let alone two. They wouldn't get rid of me…not for your death anyways."

"Where the heck did this come from," he gasped.

I just laughed, "You'd be surprised how well acting can do for a person…so do you accept?"

"I don't really have a choice…" he relented.

"All right…oh and you won't tell anyone I'm not a whore otherwise I'll still kill you. Okay, so get ready," I warned.

"Wait, we are doing this right now?" he said. That's when I started.

"Oh yeah…uh huh…right there…" I acted. I said it as loud as I could. I made very interesting noises…I knew by now everyone in the cafeteria could hear me. They knew something was going on.

"Come on," I whispered, "You have to be convincing too!"

I could tell from his facial expression that he was completely shocked at what was going on. His district partner that he thought was a slut for a long time is holding a knife to his neck telling him to pretend he is having sex with her…I could see how that would make him think I was crazy. I wasn't crazy! I just wanted everyone to leave me alone and not want to kill me! Believe me; this would put the cherry on top. It would convince everyone that I wasn't worth killing at all! After this, I could do whatever I wanted in training without worrying what others were thinking.

Finally, he joined in. We kept going for a little while until I was ready for the grand finally. I took the knife away from his neck and stabbed it into his no-no square…handle side, of course!

He groaned loudly, and it sounded like it was definitely the big part of it. I ripped a little at his shirt and messed up his hair. Then I ruffled my hair and moved my shirt so it showed a lot of my cleavage. I walked in to the cafeteria with a ditzy grin on my face. I glanced behind me as Dusk followed, looking completely dazed. Poor Dusk…I really had put him through a lot.

"You had better hold up your end of the bargain, Dusky!" I shouted eagerly. It would get around that we "slept" together…secrets never seemed to stay secrets for too long. The only secret that mattered was the one about my true self. And I only needed that to stay a secret until after the bloodbath! Then I was free and could win these games hands down!

**District Four:**

**Charlie's POV:**

The lunch bell rang and I walked awkwardly out of the cafeteria. After the pair from District Twelve came back in, it was completely silent. I couldn't believe they actually did that in the hallway! I would have to walk by that now knowing that had happened there! I walked by the Careers without a second glance. I was so mad at them! How dare they not accept me!

I was just as good as a few of them! What did they have that I didn't! Oh well. I didn't need them! Now I had to fight for Claire. She was my only concern. I didn't care about my life anymore. Now it was all about keep Claire safe and sound. I wouldn't even let her in the arena.

I walked over to the edible plant station I needed a break from trying to bash things in with a knife. I never took rejection well…especially when I thought I shouldn't be rejected. I sat down at the plant station and tried my best. I had never seen any of these plants before…living by the ocean you don't see a lot of plants period. In the end, I got five out of thirty right and the only reason I got five right was from guessing. I glanced over at the other tribute here. He was the boy from nine, Vijay. The same boy I ran into in the hallway once. He only got three out of thirty right. Wow, we were just the brightest bulbs weren't we?

Wait, he tried out for the Careers too.

"Hey, good job with those plants. You probably know more about them than me," I laughed. He just looked at me oddly. "How are you doing, Vijay," I asked.

"Okay. How about you," he said conversationally.

"Would be better if the Careers this year weren't idiots," I joked. A smirk crossed his face and he started chuckling. That's when I thought of one of my best ideas yet. If the Careers wanted to be all elite and special, fine. Since they did that they already made some powerful enemies.

"How about we start an Anti-Career Alliance," I asked. Vijay looked at me oddly again. "Think about it. If we get all the Career rejects together we can have our own Career pack!"

"That isn't a half bad idea, Charlie," I mused. "I know exactly who to start with too," Vijay beamed. He grabbed my arm and pulled me up. Then he started walking and I followed him. I found us walking over to the girl from seven. She was trying her best at swimming. I didn't need to practice since I've known how to swim my entire life. Part of me wanted to laugh since she looked like she was trying to kill the water rather than swim across it. I could tell by Vijay's face he had been here earlier and hadn't had much success with it either.

"Hey, Bree! Can we talk to you for a second," Vijay asked. She stopped flailing around in the water and got out.

"Uhm, one second. I was done anyways and I want to go change back into my clothes." She grabbed a pile of clothes and ran into the hallway. There must be a bathroom down there or something. I hadn't had to go yet so I didn't know. She came back in five minutes brushing her wet hair out.

"What's up," she asked. Vijay and I explained to her our plan. Her eyes lit up and I could tell it sounded like a good idea to her. She seemed a bit like a troublemaker and I bet she wanted to get back at the Careers for rejecting her just like I did for rejecting me.

'That's three," I said excitedly, "Do we want to invite Olive?"

We all glanced over at her and burst out laughing. Right now she was running around the track very clumsily.

"I think we can survive without her," Bree giggled. My mind then jumped to the two careers that didn't try out at all. They were worth a shot. I motioned for them to follow me and I walked over to Rapids. This girl was completely crazy and I was looking forward to getting rid of her…but she was vicious and would be a great addition to the alliance.

"Hey, Rapids," I called. She turned towards me and glared. I really wish she would have drunken coffee this morning or during lunch.

"What do you want," she grumbled. Bree stepped forward, all perky, and explained. Rapids interrupted her a few times with rude comments. I was really glad Bree was the one explaining. If I would have been I would have gave up and left Rapids to be all gloomy by herself. Bree, however, kept up her smile and would just laugh at the insults.

"Well, it's a better plan than staying by myself," she mumbled. I took that as a yes and started my trek towards the girl from one. She was at the first aid station. From what I could tell she was doing fairly well. Well, at least with the brew she was making for whatever medical purposes she needed. When I looked over at the bandaged dummy I could definitely tell she had never bandaged a person in her life.

"Hey, I'm Charlie and I'd like to propose a proposition to you," I grinned. She just stared at me with glassy eyes and then went back to her work. I then proceeded to explain to her my plan. I found myself talking a lot and going into a lot of detail, hoping to get some sort of good response out of her. For all I knew, she wasn't even paying attention.

When I was done, she just stared at me. I thought a giant rant was coming, About how no one with half a brain would go for my plan. Something cruel and mean. Something a typical District One girl would say.

She opened her mouth and I waited for the inevitable insult to roll off her tongue.

"No thank you," was all she said. She then got up and left. We all looked at each other in shock. No thank you? What happened to the girl from the Chariots? The girl who was best friends with the Capital and happy. Now she was just cold…ice cold.

The bell rang that signaled the end of day one. I looked at my new allies.

"Let's meet up tomorrow at the climbing station," I said cheerfully. Bree nodded happily and walked off towards the elevators, Vijay smiled shyly and nodded, and Rapids just glared at me before she stormed off. Wow, this was going to be a long Hunger Games.

**Mentors POV:**

**District Five:**

**Memory's POV:**

"I'm so done, Felix! How have you done this for so many years!" I groaned. I flipped onto the couch and tried not to cry. This was my third year mentoring and I felt like I was going to die. I had lost four tributes so far. Four people that I had grown close too. I felt so broken. Like I couldn't go on anymore. The nightmares were getting worse from stress, my home life was becoming chaotic and messy, and all the while I had to smile and pretend everything was perfect. I have had to handle a lot of things in my life, but this was getting to be too much.

"Because I have had too," was all he said. He was rubbing my back, trying to calm me down. I breathed in and out until I was calm. Today I had spent all day trying to get sponsors. I didn't have a ton to work with. Neal had a strong exterior, while Paloma had a fiery spirit. Compared to some of the other tributes it just didn't sell to a lot of the sponsors. You know, I think mentoring was harder than the actual games. I mean, the games were worse since you had to kill, but mentoring you have to spend all hours of the day getting sponsors, making sure your tributes train, dealing with petty problems and capital reporters, while the entire time worrying about getting too close to two people that might die.

It was exhausting.

I heard the elevator chime. I sat up and quickly wiped my tears away. I put on a calm exterior and waited for my tributes to show up. Neal was the first one. He looked extremely pissed off. Paloma came in looking exactly the same. Except Paloma always looked pissed, while Neal usually looked fairly calm.

"It's time for dinner," Felix yelled. They both kept walking by without a word. I felt my shoulder droop and I sighed. Maybe it was good they didn't like us. That way I wouldn't get too close to them. I walked to the dining room and filled up my plate.

"They'll warm up to us," Felix said comfortingly. I just shrugged. Our escort came running in.

"Where are the little ones," he asked. I just sighed. He could tell I was depressed, which meant they were in their rooms. In a few minutes, all three of them entered. I had to admire the escort, Pine's, determination. We sat there, eating silently. I was picking at my food, while Felix was shoveling more than humanly possible into his mouth. I glanced around the table. Pine was eating his food at a polite pace, Neal seemed to be thinking deeply, and Paloma glared at her food as if it would disappear from fear.

"How was training today," I asked.

"I pissed off the Careers," Neal hissed. I groaned. I did that in my games as well. I almost died so many times because of that.

"What about you Paloma?" Felix questioned.

She just grumbled, "It's none of your business."

I snapped.

"None of your business," I hissed, "Are you kidding me!" I stood up.

"Now, Memory, calm do-" Felix started.

"No! I will not," I interrupted, "Now you listen here, young lady! We may both be seventeen, but I am your mentor! I spent all day trying to get stupid idiots to sponsor your lazy butt! I haven't gotten any sleep worrying about what I can do to help you survive! I have done everything to help you and you freaking push me away! All I'm trying to do is help you by devoting every single hour of my time here to you and you don't even show one ounce of appreciation! Well, you got your wish! I am done helping you or caring for that matter! You can go die in the bloodbath for all I care now!" I screamed.

I rushed out of the room and into the hallway. I ran to the elevator and pushed the roof button. I needed air! I couldn't stay on this floor anymore. I made it to the roof and went to my favorite spot. I sat down at the garden and looked into the fountain. Stupid tributes.

I looked up and saw the boy from seven standing by the column. His eyes were darting around, as if he were waiting for someone.

"Looking for someone," I asked. He jumped. He must not have noticed me. How can you not notice this bright red hair? It stands out against everything!

"N-no," he stammered. He then stomped off and got into the elevator. Yeah, he was. I guess he, but most likely she, didn't show up. I just kept staring at the fountain. Finally, after a half hour or so, I got back into the elevator. I went down to my floor and walked past the main room. They were all sitting there. The all looked at me but I just walked past them. Let's see how they feel now that someone else is doing it to them!

I walked into my room and quickly changed into a silk robe and pajamas. I ordered a bottle of wine and pulled out one of my favorite books. It was an old book about to lovers who couldn't be together since everything was against them, and it ended with them both killing themselves because they thought the other was dead. So sad, yet so romantic. It made me think of Aidan…oh how I wished he was still here…he always was the one who could calm me down.

I poured myself a glass and started drinking. Yes, it was illegal for me to drink alcohol, but I was a fricking victor and if I wanted some darn wine, than I deserved some darn wine! Plus, after today I needed some alcohol to clear my brain. Or distract it.

I was pouring myself a second glass when I heard a knock at the door.

"Who is it," I groaned.

"Paloma…"

"Come in, if you must," I complained. She was the last person I wanted to see right now.

In a few seconds, I saw her come in and she sat down in the seat opposite of me.

"Is there something you need," I asked.

She looked like she was about to say something and then she saw the wine. "Are you allowed to drink that?"

I rolled my eyes. "If you are here to insult my bad habits, just get it over with and get out."

"I wanted to apologize. I was pushing you away…I just didn't want to get hurt…"

I continued to read my book. "If that's all, you can leave. You already heard my decision on how I'm treating this year's games." There was silence for a few minutes. I could tell she hadn't left yet.

"Please," I heard her voice break. I looked at her for the first time and saw tears glistening in her eyes. Her hair was a bit of a mess and her dark skin looked even darker in the low light. She looked a bit like a wreck. And one thing I couldn't help was my urges to protect harmless creatures.

"Please forgive me," she said again. I just looked at her.

"Fine. I will if you promise to listen to me. Don't contradict a thing I say. If you do once, then we are done." She nodded vigorously.

"I promise."

"Good," I smiled, "Now, do you want some wine?"

**Sorry for the long update! I'm super busy with life and I hope this chapter was good! I tried to add some drama and some alliance stuff. Please tell me what you think and review!**


	16. Training: Day Two

**Training Day 2:**

**District Three:**

**Hali's POV:**

I opened my eyes and felt tears start to pool in them. I had a marvelous dream about home…too bad it wasn't real. I rose slowly and walked to the bathroom. I looked into the mirror and shrugged. I was a wreck and there was nothing I could do to fix it. At first, I thought I could handle the Hunger Games. Sure, I was only fourteen and didn't have social skills in the least. What I did have was brains. I thought maybe I could get home to my family…and even if I didn't it wouldn't hurt anyone.

I just had to be so wrong…

Ever since I heard my eight year old brother, Benji, was reaped to be my replacement, I've felt sick. Why couldn't have my ditcher of a friend, Linny, been reaped? My skin looked paler than usual and my brown eyes seemed so dead. Now, if this is what I thought I looked like I didn't even want to know what the other tributes thought of me. I saw the other tributes constantly. For most of them, this Quarter Quell gave them the drive. It gave them the drive to carry on and to try harder. For me, it sucked all the hope out of my soul and left me for dead.

I dressed into a pale blue shirt with some flexible training pants. I put my brown hair into a bun and made sure my glasses were straight on my face. I still had to look somewhat presentable.

I walked out into the hallway right when Markus, my escort, was coming to get me. I just nodded at him and walked to the dining room. It was quite silent when I got there. My District Partner, Solder, had barely said any words to anyone since this began. It wasn't the depressed silence, but the silence that said he was strong and was looking for your strengths and weaknesses. I sat down and glanced at my mentors. They were both middle aged. I didn't know how their games, nor did I care anymore. I had stopped caring about a lot of stuff recently.

I just forced the food down my throat. Just a little bit longer…soon the torture would be over. I mean, who was I kidding? I was the weakest tribute in these games. The only people I was possibly better than were the pair from six and the girl from twelve. Again, it was a definite maybe…

In other words, let's just say that it was near impossible for me to win. I wanted to win…but I just didn't see it happening. Compare me to any tribute in a battle and I was dead. It was time to go so I just followed Solder. We rode in silence down to the training center. I tried to talk to him on the train ride, but all I got was the silent treatment. Apparently I wasn't worthy of his attention.

I waited for the instructors to give us the okay before I went to any station. Once they did, I just started wandering a bit. What to do today. Yesterday I focused only on survival techniques. Maybe today I should try to pick up some things with a weapon of some sort. I walked over to the weapons stations. There were a lot of different stations. Archery…swords…knives….heavy weaponry…and light weaponry. There were a few others, such as some foreign ancient weapons, but I wouldn't ever use those. Nor would I ever use a gun, so that station was out of my range.

I decided the knives were my best bet. I walked over to them and tried to decide between throwing or hand to hand combat. Well, I wouldn't be the best at either…maybe I should try hand to hand first? I walked over to it and picked up a knife. It looked so harmless while I was holding it. I started trying to attack the dummy. Then I realized how bad I was doing. I was barely making a dent in the wood and my tears were mediocre at best.

I wanted to start crying. I shut my eyes and placed my hands on the temples of my forehead. I could get through this…I might not have a chance but I owe Ben….I at least had to try!

I picked up the knife and I was about ready to charge it again.

"You're holding it all wrong," someone whispered. I glanced to my right, expecting to see the instructor. It wasn't. It was the rebellious looking man from seven.

"Uh…I'm sorry," I squeaked. I tended to speak in a high pitched voice when I got nervous. It wasn't the fact that it was him talking to me…it was the fact that he could crush me like a bug in a matter of seconds and for some reason I was on his radar. That's what scared me!

"Here," he said gently. For the first time, I noticed a look of kindness in his eyes…why hadn't I seen that before? He leaned over and moved my grip on the knife, "If you hold it like this you will have a better grip."

I tried stabbing again and I realized that I did have a far better grip.

"Thanks," I said shyly. He just nodded and continued to teach me. After a half hour or so, he just looked at me with an amused expression on his face.

"I don't think knives are your forte…would you like to try light weaponry?" he asked. I nodded, completely stunned. Was he inviting me to go to another station with him? This strong seventeen year old was training with a shrimp like me! We walked over there together. He picked up a sling shot and handed it to me.

"Try to hit those targets over there," he ordered. I didn't hesitate. I took the small ammo and tried to hit the targets. By the end, I had only hit one…with thirty rounds of ammo…

"Maybe you should try this," he suggested. It was a very tiny crossbow. I mean, I was able to fire with only on hand. It was better to fire with both, but if I was ever caught in a sticky situation this would be good to pull out and shoot…and with a poison arrow or something this could be quite the helpful object!

I fire with the tiny arrows available…and still did terrible! We tried fifty arrows until I finally gave up. I was so useless! This time, he handed me a boomerang. I just laughed. How was I going to use this if I couldn't use a crossbow? I decided to humor him and I threw it.

I missed the target, but it did come back to me. I looked at it oddly. This wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I threw it a few more times and I realized that I had a hidden talent! Well, anyone could throw a boomerang, but I was starting to get fairly good with it! I kept throwing it until I hit every target. Now, it took me awhile to hit every target, but I eventually did it! I looked at him excitedly to find him smirking.

"Everyone is good at something," he smiled, "And you just found what you are good at!" I squealed and hugged him. Then, I realized what I just did and released. I could feel myself blushing furiously. He was just smiling.

"Hey, Squirt, from now you're hanging out with me. My name's Link." He said warmly.

"Does that mean you want to be in an alliance with _me_?" I gasped. He just nodded.

"Why," I asked.

His eyes clouded up a bit. "You remind me of my sister. She used to do some of the things you do…like rub your temples when you're stressed…" he murmured.

I could tell that his sister was a touchy subject. I decided to not ask about it until I knew it wouldn't jeopardize our alliance.

"Okay…my name is Hali, by the way," I smiled.

"I'll stick with Squirt," he laughed. I could feel my brow furrow. Now I knew how my little brother felt. We decided to go to the edible food station. On the way, we walked past the track. I saw him staring at the girl from one as she ran. I looked from him to her a couple of times. Then it hit me.

"You aren't the best at covering up your emotions," I said slyly. He just looked at me oddly. I glanced over at her and then made a quick heart with my hands before I skipped ahead.

"He-hey that's not what's going on," he flustered. I just laughed and kept skipping ahead.

"Whatever you say, Romeo!" I giggled. He glared at me and I gulped. It wasn't the kind of glare that meant he was going to kill me. It was the kind of glare that meant he wanted to tackle me to the ground and sit on me until I took it back. I spent far too much time doing that to my brother…

I just laughed and started running towards the edible plants station at full speed. I heard him behind me and then we both started laughing. With him on my side, maybe I had a better chance of surviving. For the first time, because of Link, I felt hope start to regenerate in my heart.

**District Five:**

**Paloma's POV:**

I glanced over at the boy from seven and the young girl from three giggling. What idiots! This is training! You aren't supposed to be having fun.

I took a deep breath. Memory told me not to lose my temper. Memory told me to play nice with the other tributes. Not necessarily make an alliance, but to be nice so I wasn't a target for the bloodbath or later on in the games. I had to do it. Right now I was at the camouflage station. I decided it would be a valuable skill to have later on in the games.

You see, I knew my strengths. I was pretty good at hand to hand combat. I was always great at running. I also used to be good at finding places to hide in District Five and just disappear for awhile. Now what skill combined all of those and made it into a wonderful plan? Camouflage!

I had a plan now. I would camouflage myself, hide out, and then attack when tributes got close. Well, if they got close. I kind of wanted to avoid most conflict. That's why I was spending a lot of my time at survival stations. It wasn't the most uncommon strategy, but it's worked before! Plus, most of the tributes seemed to be focusing on fighting, so why shouldn't I do what I'm best at and focus on hiding?

The only other person at the camouflage station was Dusk. He was far better at it than me, but I had picked up a few things just by watching him. I was hoping to be as good as him, but I probably wasn't going to be able to get that amount of skill. His was partly natural talent. That's when I decided I should probably try my mentor's advice on playing nice.

"Hey, that's a really good imitation of mud," I complimented. He just nodded, which I guess was his version of a thank you.

"My name is Paloma. Your name is Dusk, right?" I asked.

"Yep."

I finally shut my mouth. I didn't like to make a fool out of myself. It was always my greatest fear that I would be hurt by someone and rejection was one of the biggest ways to hurt someone. Then my mind flickered to my older brother. I had to keep trying for him otherwise he would be sent into the arena if I died.

Then the most idiotic thing came out of my mouth, "So you banged Olive, huh?" I immediately blushed. What was wrong with me! Why did I just say that!

His blush was very big as well. "Uh, yeah I guess."

I had to rethink what he just said.

"You guess? I personally think it would be a hard thing to remember," I laughed.

He just rolled his eyes, "I'm personally trying to forget."

I just sighed. Conversation wasn't my strong suit and it obviously wasn't his either.

"Look at the babies finger painting," someone snickered. I glared at the person who voiced it. I found myself staring right at Jakov, from District Eleven. He thought he had been quiet, but boy was he wrong. I could tell by the situation he was trying to impress the Careers by acting mean. Too bad, acting or no acting, I never let anything slide.

"Look at the bitches gossiping," I replied in the same idiotic tone he used. He blushed and I saw the other Careers staring at him. They wanted to see if he would take that from a 'lowly' District girl.

"At least I have more talent than finger painting. It's funny how the only two people who are doing it is the idiot girl whose supposed to be from a smart district and the emo guy who did it with his imbecile of a district partner for no good reason" he growled. The rest of the Careers snickered. I looked each of them in the eyes. Alex seemed a bit reserved and was only laughing because he was the leader and couldn't seem weak. Saturn and Isis seemed to think it was genuinely funny. Alix was only laughing so she wouldn't completely stand out. Then there was Jakov. His eyes were pleading with me to stop. That he was sorry and was only trying to fit in. All he wanted was for me to just drop it and move on.

Obviously he didn't know me.

I just laughed. "First of all, we are the only two who _can_ do it! I'd like to see you be able to do this with skill! Second, I may not be the smartest but neither are you. Third, 'emo' boy over here has a name and is a far better person than you'll ever be. At least he can get laid. I doubt you'll ever get the chance. Now, why don't you run along and leave us alone before you regret it."

They just glared at me. Gosh, this was like high school all over again.

"Let's indulge her just this once and get going. She isn't worth it," Alex reasoned. They left and I turned back to my project. I looked up to see Dusk staring at me.

"What?" I asked. He just shook his head.

"Thanks. I owe you one," was all he said before he lapsed back into his silence. I just looked down at my camouflage and smiled. See, I can play nice! Well, I did piss off five other people, but now one person owes me! Today is turning out to be a great day!

**Mentor's POV:**

**District Four:**

**Ethan's POV:**

"Come on, Crescent, only a few more people," I tried to cheer. She just nodded and kept looking forward. Ever since her brother died a few months ago she has been so empty. I've tried to cheer her up, but nothings worked. Alicia, my wife, and I even tried to invite her to live with us. Living in that house by herself must have been not helping her depression. She turned us down, saying we needed room for the baby.

The baby.

I was so excited for the baby! I married the girl of my dreams and now we were having a child! What more could I ask for? Of course, mentoring was kind of bringing me down. It was so stressful and a bit heartbreaking. To think, Charlie or Rapids might be dead by the end of this. It just makes you rethink things a bit.

We walked into the next restaurant. We were meeting quite a few potential sponsors here in the next few hours. We sat down and waited. A woman with cream hair and lips that were far too large was our first guest.

"Tell me what I should sponsor your tributes," she asked. Straight to the point. She was my favorite so far. Most of the other sponsors carried on long conversations that were quiet boring. It took forever to get to the entire reason we were here.

"Rapids is feisty and ruthless. She will do anything to get home. As for Charlie, he has a fiancée who might be put into the games if he dies, which will give him the drive to win," I reasoned. She just looked at the ceiling in thought.

"I'll think about it," she said before leaving. She must be a very busy woman. After her it was a bit of a blur. Sponsor after sponsor and they were all the same. Dressed crazily, talked a lot, and wealthy. I tried my best to convince them, but some of them didn't see logic. About halfway through we both took a break. We got up and went out into the hallway.

"Pretty crazy, huh?" I asked. Crescent just nodded and looked out one of the windows. She had a hateful look in her eye. It was as if she hated the Capital, but not for the same reason I hated it. I knew it was corrupt but her hate seemed to be stemmed from something else.

"Excuse me, Miss Crescent. May I have the pleasure of asking you a question," a man asked. I looked over at him and was a bit repulsed. Big, strong, and very wealthy. At least, that's what his clothes said. I could tell that I would have a hard time beating him in a fight though.

"Yes," she answered.

"I was wondering if you would escort me to lunch…" he asked. He placed his hand on her hip and I glared at him. He was seriously hitting on her? What was wrong with some of these people?

She looked him up and down very carefully. "No."

Anger shot through his eyes and he grabbed her wrist.

"I don't really think you have a choice," he hissed. She just glared at him and started struggling. I stormed over to him and grabbed his hand.

"Let her go now. Everyone has a choice and you obviously aren't hers!"

He just glared at both of us before he started chuckling. The anger left his eyes and he dropped her wrist.

"Why, of course, how silly of me! I forgot the most important part!" he slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out a purple handkerchief. I just looked at him as if he was psycho. What did that have to do with anything?

I looked over at Crescent and I could feel my eyes bulge. Her face was very pale and her eyes looked even emptier.

"Of course," she murmured. She took his extended arm, "Excuse me, Ethan, but I would like to escort this man to lunch. Would you mind taking care of the rest of the sponsors." And she was gone before I could say I word. What was going on?

I went to the dining room and looked out the window. I saw her climbing into a limousine with the man. Then I was pulled back into the world of sponsors. I finished with the rest of them and went straight to the Training Center. I was going to demand an answer from Crescent about that man. Something wasn't right and I needed to know what.

I got back to our floor and checked her room. Empty.

I sit down in view of the elevator and wait. In about a half an hour, I hear the door ding. I look up and gasp. She hobbles in with a vacant look in her eyes. That's not the part I gasp at, though. He face is bruised and I can blood slowly running down from a place on her forehead.

"Crescent! What happened!" I yell.

She just walked past me, "Nothing Ethan. Let it be."

"No I want an answer now!" I say. I grab her arm and she immediately turns around and slaps me across the face.

"It's none of your business! Stay out of it before you get hurt!" she yells before running down the hallway to her bedroom. I just sit back down and put my face in my hands. What is going on…?

**A/N I promise this will have relevance later!**

**District Eleven:**

**Jakov's POV:**

We sat down at the table and started eating our lunch. Today had been a long day for me. I tried to be all Career-like and intimidate the competition and it totally back fired in my face. I didn't want to be mean…

I looked at the group as they talked. I found myself liking most of them. I mean, Isis was crazy, Alix was a bitch, Alex was far too smart, and Saturn was pretty quiet, but they were all fairly nice to me. I laughed at how Isis decided how to tell the difference when we were talking to both alex and alix. Since they sounded exactly the same she decided to call Alex "Carter" and Alix "Girly: since Alix's last name was so long. Isis was always pretty funny, I wasn't going to lie. My thoughts quickly flickered to my girlfriend, Shadow. I couldn't get to close to these people otherwise she might end up in the arena when I couldn't kill them.

Besides the obvious tension of being cool, we kind of seemed like an actual alliance. Alex had been helping Alix get better at running endurance. That made Alix almost lethal since she was a very fast sprinter and was now slowly getting to the point where she could sprint that fast for awhile. Saturn was helping Isis out with her sword techniques and Isis was getting fairly good. Both Saturn and Alex were helping me train with a mace. I was getting pretty good at it too. This is why I felt like it was an actual alliance. We were all helping each other with our weaknesses. Well, no one was helping Alex or Saturn but they refused any help since they were the only fully trained Careers in the alliance.

"Okay, I think I have a good bloodbath strategy," Alex said at last. He had been trying to think of a good one for awhile. He wanted it to be flawless.

"Well, let's hear it then," Alix replied.

"I think we should just target a few key players during the bloodbath. Then pick off a few weak ones once we got rid of the big players," Alex said confidently.

"What about all the others that get away? It's a pain to hunt down a lot of tributes, weak or not weak," Isis complained.

"Have you noticed what this Quarter Quell has done to the tributes," Saturn chirped in, "It's given them the drive to kill. The tributes that get away will probably end up killing each other more than we kill them."

We all nodded. It was a fairly logical and full proof plan.

"So, what tributes are we targeting?" I asked.

"Well, it would probably be best to decide after the training scores, but we can decide a few now. I'm thinking three or four." Alex commented.

"Neal Dawson," Isis hissed. We all rolled our eyes. Isis had such a grudge against him. It was ridiculous.

"Is he any good," I asked.

"I've seen him in training. He seems like a fighter. Besides Isis' grudge, he does seem like a possible contender for victor," Saturn reasoned.

"Okay, there's one." Alix said.

"What about the guy from three," I asked, "I've seen him training and he knows how to fight very well."

"That's two," Saturn commented.

"I think the boy from eight seems like a fighter as well. I saw him with a sword and I was a bit shocked at how well he could fight. I would say either him or the boy from seven. Maybe the girl from seven too," Alix mentioned.

"I'd say we stick with targeting the boys from three, five, and eight for now. Then keep our eyes out for the pair from seven. Then, after training scores, we put different people into our radar accordingly," Alex suggested. We all nodded. Another full proof plan by Alex. Did Alex's plans ever fail?

**District Three:**

**Solder's POV:**

The lunch bell rang and I slowly got up and waited for everyone to clear out before I left. I didn't like to be crowded by people I didn't know. It was kind of freaky. I strode out into the gymnasium and looked at everyone. Now was the perfect time to observe my competition. I sat stood in the middle and went through the list of tributes in my head.

First was Rouge Lockett. The beautiful girl from district one. I heard the Careers were now calling her Rogue and some of the tributes were calling her Beauty Queen. She was noticed by most but she seemed to ignore everyone. She was either very cold or a great actress. I also saw her at the track a lot. She was trying to get her endurance back up to par. Right now, however, she was at the swimming station. She was becoming pretty good at it and was even learning how to swim underwater pretty well.

I got out a piece of paper and pencil I stole from my room.

_District One: Rouge "Rogue" Lockett- Threat. Very fast. May know things about weapons but doesn't show it. Has spent a lot of time building up endurance and learning about survival. May be a good actress. May be a cold hearted witch._

I found Alex next and looked at him. He was smart, I would give him that. He knew how to lead his pack and he knew how to come up with fairly good plans when it came to what to train with for the day.

_District One: Alex Carter – Leader of Careers. Threat. Strong and Smart. Probably knows things about weapons. _

Next was Isis and I just started writing.

_District Two: Isis Robertson – Crazy girl who has a temper. Getting better with sword. Seen at survival stations. However, I could take her down. Not a threat._

Saturn was one of my biggest threats. He was strong and smart. The difference between him and Alex was that Saturn seemed like he was hiding something. As if he was maybe a little crazy himself.

_District Two: Saturn Everett – May be hiding something. Strong and kind of smart. Good with a knife. Threat._

Next was my District Partner and I just laughed.

_District Three: Hali Wardle – Not a threat. May be a little smart, but nothing I can't handle. The only mentionable thing is that she seems to ally herself with the male from District Seven._

I found Rapids with a big group of people and I smirked. I heard they formed some Anti- Career Pack. I just glanced at them and started laughing again. Right now, Rapids was beating Charlie over the head with a sling shot while Vijay tried to stop her and Bree was giggling. Yeah…that alliance might not last the longest.

_District Four: Rapids Water – Semi threat. She has a temper and could easily know something about weapons. Spends a lot of time at survival stations._

I just started writing about Charlie without looking at him. I had observed him enough to know what I wanted to write.

_District Four: Charlie Montegomery – Not a threat. Too soft to kill. However, he seems decent with a knife and has spent time at the survival stations just like Rapids._

I found Paloma at the hand to hand combat station with Dusk. It seemed like she was trying to teach him some things about it. I saw him teaching her some things about camouflage earlier so maybe it was some exchange of some kind. I didn't think they were in an alliance though.

_District Five:_ _Paloma Moretti – Semi threat. Knows some things about hand to hand combat and camouflage. Definitely a hider. _

I glanced around and it wasn't hard to find Neal. His face still had a red claw mark against it and I smiled. I had to respect Isis' ruthlessness. Too bad I would have to kill her.

_District Five: Neal Dawson – Threat. Very strong. Seen at the fighting stations a lot. Probably knows a few things about surviving._

I glanced around to find the idiot two from six. They were so weak. Obvious bloodbaths.

_District Six: Abby Parker – Not a threat. Has a limp. Very odd. Seems okay with throwing knives._

_ District Six: Quince Fisher – Not a threat. Chubby and not strong. Seen at the trap station a lot._

I found Bree and started laughing again. They finally got the sling shot away from Rapids, but now Bree seemed to be in some sort of fight with Rapids.

_District Seven: Bree Sulivan – Semi threat. Seems okay with an axe. Probably knows things about plants being from lumber district. Is optimistic._

I found Link with Hali at the climbing station. He seemed to be trying to help her get better at climbing and she wasn't doing so well. What a pathetic loser Link was…helping a weakling.

_District Seven: Link Trat – Threat. Strong and good with knives. Good climber, apparently. Has a soft spot for Hali. That can be used against him…_

I found the lovers from eight and started laughing. Lovers were always targeted. They were screwed.

_District Eight: Azalea Cress – Not a threat. Seen at the swimming station and is good at it. Very good with edible plants. Is in love, which is a weakness_

_ District Eight: Jute Farlend – Threat. Strong and courageous. Seen at sword station and is getting better. _

I found Alix with the Career pack and just smiled. She was the one person I might alliance with if I ever got the chance. Something about her attitude, mixed with her survivor instincts made me respect her.

_District Nine: Alix Van Airengarde – Threat. Very fast. Is in with the Careers. Vicious. Seems to do anything to survive._

I found Vijay with his group and frowned. Dang, they were getting along now…

_District Nine: Vijay Blackman – Semi threat. Seems strong. Been seen at fighting stations and is decent._

I found the pair from District Ten. I respected their strategy. They seemed to be flying low under all the tributes radars. They both were wandering around trying every station. However, they both seemed to be acting a bit too weak. Acting being the key word.

_District Ten: Natalie Swan – Might be a hidden threat. Observant. Good at flying low under the radar. Seems a bit fearless and reckless._

_ District Ten: __Conium Maculatum – Might be a hidden threat. Is strong and has been seen excelling a bit athletically at the track and swimming stations._

I found the girl from eleven and frowned. This was the one girl I didn't have figured out. At first, she seemed to be a complete weakling. Then I thought she was acting and trying to go under the radar. Then I saw her trying to find an alliance. Melody was one confusing girl. The only tribute to confuse me yet.

_District Eleven: Melody Trine – Don't know yet. Could be acting. Could just be a weakling. Will right more after further observations._

I just went straight to writing about Jakov since I observed him enough.

_District Eleven: Jakov Douglas – Threat. In with the Careers. Aggressive and is improving with a mace. _

I took one look at Olive and laughed. What an idiot.

_District Twelve: Olive Pendragon – Not a threat. Idiot. Knows pretty much nothing._

_District Twelve: Dusk Shalts – Not a threat. Seems to know only about hiding. May take awhile to hunt down but once I find him he is dead meat._

I put my list back in my pocket and smiled. I was so winning these games…

**District Two:**

**Isis' POV:**

"Hey, Girly," I called. She walked over with a look of confusion on her face. She was just at the edible plants station and I guess I interrupted her training. Oh well, what I had to ask was far more important.

"On a scale of one to ten, how fabulous does my hair look today? I spent a lot of time on it but when I was training with a sword I think I messed it up," I rambled.

Alix just laughed and smiled, "It looks great, Is! Don't worry about it!"

She walked back over to her station and I sighed. You know, I thought we were going to hate each other. I mean, the only two girls in the Career Pack. Plus, we both seemed bitchy and self absorbed. Yet, for some reason, we became pretty good friends. She was probably the person I was closest to here. I just giggled and walked over to the first aid station. Alex assigned us to each learn a survival task. Alix's task was to learn about edible plants; Saturn's was to learn about fire starting. Alex was going to learn about shelter making and a little camouflage for the shelter. Then I was assigned to first aid.

It was a pretty good plan. That way we all contributed and not all of us had to learn about all these stupid skills. I started out on a brew since I already passed bandaging and stitching wounds. I glanced to my right to see Rogue sitting down. She was on some advanced potion by now. I just glared at her. I really didn't like her either. I mean, she was completely heartless, and she didn't join the Careers! Not to mention she was stealing a ton of sponsors away from me!

I had my eye on her a lot. She spent so much time at the swimming station and track that I thought she was going to break something from so much activity. Then she would come to the survival stations to take a break. She steered clear of all fighting stations. I thought she was hiding some fighting skill, but the rest of the Careers disagreed. Whatever, they would feel sorry when I was right!

She finally looked back and just stared at me. She raised one of her eyebrows and went back to her work.

I smiled. I just had to stir the pot…just a little. "Do you mind helping me with this brew? I can't seem to get it," I asked sweetly. She looked at me again with her cold eyes and shook her head.

"Why not," I asked, "Is it because you can't?"

She just stared at me. She knew I was trying to provoke her. I just wanted to see her crack…just this once.

"Yes that sounds right. You're weak. Why else wouldn't you try out for the Careers?"

She just continued to stare me straight in the eyes. I couldn't let her win. There had to be something that would make her snap.

"Of course, why would you need too? You have sponsors lining up to throw money at you. Probably because they want to have sex with you…too bad they'll never get the chance since I'll kill you first." I laughed.

Come on Isis think…there had to be something…

"Then once you're dead, I'll kill your brother. Nice and slow…let the blood flow from his body…"

Once I mentioned her brother her eyes flared up. She kept her face straight but her eyes betrayed everything. She wanted me dead right now. She wanted me dead because I was a threat to her brother. I finally made her crack. Well, not completely, but enough to give me satisfaction.

"Toodles!" I cheered happily. I got up and walked over to Alix.

"Hey, Girly! Do I have a story for you!"

**District Six:**

**Quince's POV:**

"I don't get why girls gossip so much," Azalea commented. We had just witnessed Isis blabbing to Alix about how she made Rouge "crack". We all shrugged. Some girls were just weird. Others were cool, like Abby and Azalea.

"Well, I don't think it's ever going to change so we might as well get used to it," I replied. I heard Jute chuckle and I smiled. I always liked to make people laugh. I wasn't the best at it, but when I did I took pride in it.

"Whe-e-ere do yo-u-u guys want to go ne-ext," Abby asked. We just shrugged. We went to pretty much ever place here. Well, all the survival ones at least.

"Let's just head towards the weapons stations and try some new ones out," Jute suggested. We all nodded and started walking. Abby's limp made her really slow so it took us awhile. I mean, she could have ran but it would have looked pretty weird to see some random girl running to a station. No one really ran in the training center unless you were on the track or late for a stylist appointment.

We finally made it and decided to try out the spear station. The only other person there was the girl from eleven. After awhile, we all realized we weren't really that good with spears. I glanced over at the girl from eleven to see her doing pretty well.

"How do you so well with that," I asked. She looked at me in surprise. I don't think a lot of people had interacted with her. She quickly showed me how she gripped it and how she would extend her arm. I tried it and realized it was quite beneficial.

"Thanks," I said. Azalea motioned for us to leave. I started walking away, but for some reason looked back. I could tell by the look in her eyes she was hoping for an alliance. I mouthed I was sorry and kept walking. I was in an alliance of four. Five would draw far too much attention. I looked back on last time to see her a bit heartbroken. I felt my heart break a little and tried to breathe. I had to get used to it if I was going to win. If being the operative word.

**What do you guys think? Please review! Only a few more chapters until the ACTUAL games! Btw, just so you guys know I do everyone's POV once before games before I start doing repeats and I planned it out so EVERYONE gets ONE POV before the games! The only people left that haven't had POV are Alix, Link, Jute, Rapids, and Conium. **

**So yeah review so I write faster and you guys learn the training scores ;D **


	17. Training: Day Three

**Hey, quick authors note. I just wanted to respond to a few reviews.**

**Pie eater: I will take your advice into consideration and work on my portal of Jakov.**

**Training Day Three:**

**District Four:**

**Rapids' POV:**

I woke up to the sun beaming on my face. That was the first good night's sleep I had gotten in weeks! I felt full of energy and as if I was ready to take on the world! I quickly rushed out of bed and into the shower. Today was my last day of training! And I would have to perform for the Gamemakers! I had better look my best!

I scrubbed every part of my body clean and skipped to my dresser. I grabbed black pants and a blue shirt that went along with it. I brushed my short black hair. I stared at myself in the mirror. For the first time in months, my lack of beauty really didn't bother me. Who needed to be beautiful anyways?

I laughed at my own joke, which probably wasn't even a joke, and skipped to the dining room.

"Good morning everyone," I announced in a sing song voice. They all just looked at me as if I was crazy. Is there a problem being happy?

"Good morning," Charlie sputtered out, "I trust you slept well then?"

I just laughed. "Of course I did, silly Billy!"

I plopped down into my seat and ate whatever food I could grab. I usually didn't eat a lot but today I felt starved! I gobbled down food and everyone looked at me as if I was crazy again. Whatever.

"Time for training," I announced. I grabbed Charlie's arm and dragged him out the door. I then proceeded to skip and made him skip with me. By the end we were both laughing our heads off. I think I might start be getting the reason why people kept looking at me like that…

We made it down to the training gym in one piece. I found Bree and Vijay standing by one of the sword stations. Vijay and Bree seemed to be trying out a few of the swords and seeing if they could pick up any skills. I walked over to them, waving the entire time.

"HEY GUYS!" I squealed. I was so happy right now! I had an alliance, I had plenty of skills, and I had a good night's sleep! I was ready for the Hunger Games right now!

"Uhm, hey Rapids," Vijay said unsurely.

"What are we going to do for our half a day," I asked.

"I was thinking some last minute survival stations," Charlie suggested. We all nodded. We all had a vague idea what we were doing for the Gamemakers so it made sense to try honing our survival skills one last time.

We all walked to the fire building station. Bree knew how to do it pretty well but in case, you know, we "lost" her than we would know how to do it. I was having a really hard time with it but Charlie and Vijay were getting the hang of it. Then we went to the edible plant station. Again, I had issues. Bree did pretty well and so did Charlie. Vijay was with me and we both did pretty badly.

"Hey guys, I got a plan before we head to the next station," Charlie proclaimed. We just stood still and listened. I hadn't heard one bad idea come out of Charlie's mouth yet.

"I think we should fight at the Cornucopia, take it over, and kill the Careers!"

Well, he just broke my standards.

"Are you crazy," Bree voiced first, "That's suicide!"

"Think about it," he said excitedly, "Vijay can use a sword, which means he can take Isis out. Rapids, I've seen you with that machete over there. You kick butt! I bet you could take Saturn out in two seconds! Bree, with your axe Jakov and Alix would be easy pickings. Than just leave the leader to me."

"So you are crazy," Bree hissed. I was a bit shocked. Did we switch personalities or something?

"It's an okay plan," Vijay argued, "I see the logic in it. Go down with a fight!"

"I'm not risking my life for your crazy ideals!" Bree complained.

"What are you saying," Charlie accused.

"I'm saying I'd rather be in no alliance than in an alliance that is going to try something so stupid!"

I looked at Charlie and saw anger slip into his eyes. Ever since the Quell was announced he has been more prone to anger. That's when it hit me. This was a suicide mission of sorts. He was trying to kill the Careers so that if he died his fiancée would have a better chance. It was kind of sweet but also very selfish. I mean, I wanted my mother to be safe if she went into the arena but I wanted to win so she wouldn't have to go into the arena at all!

"Then leave," he hissed, "We don't want you then!"

"Fine," she fumed. She stomped away.

"I'm with Bree on this one," I said nervously. Charlie's glare shot right at me. I felt like a deer in the headlights.

"Then go with her," he yelled.

He didn't have to say it twice. As soon as he said that I was gone. I ran after Bree and grabbed onto her shoulder. She turned around and her "pissed off" face turned into a face filled with relief.

"So you think the plans stupid too, huh?" Bree asked.

"Pretty much. We can still be allies, right?" I questioned.

"Of course! Anyone who can see that plan was going to fail is a good enough person for me to be in an alliance with!" she laughed.

I just smiled and nodded. I was kind of sad to lose Charlie and Vijay. They were definitely handy to have around. However, no way in hell would I be part of that plan! I mean, I don't understand why either of them thought it was a good idea! Maybe they were men and just looking for a fight. Who knows? The point is that now I'm with Bree and we have enough girl power to win this game!

**District Ten:**

**Conium's POV:**

"Wow, that was intense," Natalie whispered. I just nodded. We had witnessed the Anti Career alliance split. You see, for some reason both of us could go pretty unnoticed. I'm pretty sure not even the Careers have really acknowledged us yet. I don't know what it was. Maybe it was because we didn't talk a lot. Maybe it was because we quietly went station to station and never spent too much time at any one station. It could have been a plethora of things. The point was that we were just feet away from them and they didn't even notice we were here.

"You could say that again," I mumbled.

"That was intense," she repeated playfully. I just giggled a little. Over the few days, we had become kind of close. Well, as close as two guarded people could be. At first, I wanted to be close to her because of how much she reminded me of my sister. Then, I got to know her and she was nothing like my sister! My sister was flirty, outgoing, and a bit ditzy. Natalie was independent, strong, and very smart. I respected her for it. I think she respected me too.

At least I hoped she did.

"Ready for the next station," I said with a sigh. It was kind of tiring going from station to station. It would be nice just to stick with one station for an hour or so.

"I guess," she relented. We got up from our sitting position and walked over to the electric station. It was quite simple for some people. You would learn a little bit about electric wiring for mines or stuff like that. Stuff that exploded.

We had been here once before and neither of us really got how it worked. We were from District Ten! Electronics were the furthest thing from our range of knowledge. Animals, sure. Plants, maybe. Electronics, I don't think so!

We sat down and waited for the instructor to give us directions. He was obviously really bored. The only person I had ever seen over here was Olive, and obviously she didn't learn anything from it. We spent some time working on a small electronic mine. Both of us failed. We decided it would be best to move on.

We walked over to the weapons station and sighed. We were both pretty good with knives, but not enough to completely wow the Gamemakers. I picked up a knife and started slashing. I did some damage, but even I knew I didn't have any technique behind it. Natalie was throwing hers and she had pretty good accuracy.

I turned around to see the girl from District Eleven, Melody, staring at us. I shivered. She kind of creeped me out. It wasn't in the way where she actually seemed like a creeper or stalker. It was in the kind of way that she was always watching and knew a lot about us. A bit too much, such as our weaknesses. I felt like she was a strong competitor hiding behind quietness, like Natalie and myself.

"Hey, is there something we can help you with," I asked. Natalie turned around and eyed Melody with her gray eyes.

"Well….I was just wondering if you could show me some moves with the knife," she said quietly, "I don't know a thing about weapons….and I'd rather not go into the Hunger Games without any chance of winning…"

Nothing? How could she have not picked up any skills with weapons in the past few days! I glanced at Natalie to see her soften. She was a sucker for helpless people. The real question was Melody really helpless?

"Sure," Natalie said sympathetically. She grabbed Melody's arm and took her over to the knife station. Wait, Melody was older than Natalie! Why did Melody seem so young and innocent? Gosh, my head was so confused.

"To throw a knife with power and aim," Natalie started, "You must have a firm grip on it. Then, you have to put a lot of momentum behind it. Another clever trick for accuracy is to flick your wrist in the general direction you want the blade to go."

Melody just nodded like she was paying full attention. I felt like this was all an act. Why couldn't Natalie see right through it?

Melody threw a few knives. They didn't even hit the target!

"I'll never get this," she sobbed sadly.

"Of course you will! Let's try again," Natalie encouraged. We spent a half an hour trying to help Melody. Let's just say Melody didn't improve at all. I wanted to punch something. Why couldn't the instructor try to help her! We had other things to do than help her!

"I don't know what else to do," Natalie relented.

"I'm sorry I'm such a failure," Melody moaned. I just rolled my eyes. Could we be done now?

"Come on, Natalie; let's head to the climbing station."

"Wait," Melody cried. She grabbed Natalie's arm as we both turned. I looked into her eyes and saw tears glistening in them. "Can I please join your alliance? If I don't I know I will die for sure!"

Melody by now was actually sobbing. Natalie looked at me with pleading eyes. I knew what she was going to do.

"Of course you can. Come with us to the climbing wall!"

Natalie helped Melody up off the ground and patted her on the back. Natalie started walking towards the climbing wall, which made her take her eyes off Melody. I didn't. What I saw astounded me. The tears stopped for one second and I saw pride in her eyes. It was quickly covered up with sadness and she followed after Natalie. What game was this girl playing?

**District Nine:**

**Alix's POV:**

"Come on! Harder! Run faster!"

I kept running, even though I felt like I was going to pass out. I was not a quitter. Alex was standing on the side lines. He was pushing me to reach my full potential. No matter how much it hurt now; I would never be able to repay him for it.

I had actually become friends with most of the Careers. Isis and I were like two peas in a pod, Alex and I had developed a weird coach and student relationship, and Jakov and I had become kind of friends! The only person I didn't like was Saturn. Something about him gave me the creeps. He always was analyzing everyone, including me. Also, I felt like his quietness was masking something darker. Something sinister. I told Isis that once and she just laughed at me. She said I must be crazy or need more sleep.

I finally stopped running and fell to the ground on my knees.

"Come on, one more lap," Alex ordered. I just shook my head. I had been running for three days straight. I had a lot more endurance now but my entire body was aching. I couldn't run anymore.

"I just need a five minute break," I lied. I actually needed a five hour break, but I doubted that would fly with Alex.

"Fine. How about you sit here for a few minutes and then we can go check out a weapon for you. We haven't done that yet." I just nodded and he walked away.

My legs felt like they were on fire. I looked over to my left to see the boy from District Three staring at me. I didn't like it…right now I was in a vulnerable state. I just needed a few more minutes rest.

"What are you staring at," I snarled.

He just laughed, "A weak girl who can't pretend to be a Career anymore."

"I'm more of a Career than you," I hissed. He just shook his head.

"We'll see when the training scores come out who is more of a Career." He snickered.

"Training scores aren't the only things that create a career. It's your spirit, your commitment. It's your passion to win and your yearning for safety and companionship." I reasoned.

"I wonder if your fellow Careers feel the same," He mocked.

I just rolled my eyes, "I'm just stating my thoughts on it. As if you don't have any issues. I may have Careers to deal with but you're stuck dealing with yourself. I think you have it worst off," I growled.

"Just shut your mouth," he growled.

"Aw poor baby," I mocked, "you need to learn to laugh about your problems; everyone else does!'

I laughed when I saw the anger flash across his face. I'm glad he was smart enough to catch my hidden meaning in my statement.

"I'm going to kill you once we get into the arena. You and your stupid friend, Anna." He threatened.

I felt all playfulness leave my face. No one threatens my friends. "We'll see, loser."

I saw Alex coming back. I glanced over at him. When I looked back at the boy from District Three, he was gone.

"You ready to find a weapon," he asked. I just nodded. I was really ready to take a nap, but I didn't have that luxury at the moment.

We walked to the light weaponry station, "You're going to need a light weapon since you're a sprinter. A weapon you can carry while you sprint after your enemy and then take them down."

I just nodded at his logic. It made sense to me. If I tried to sprint after someone while carrying a sword or lance, then I would be screwed. I'd probably trip over it and impale myself, knowing my luck.

"Try this," he said. He handed me a very small knife. "Perfect for slitting people's throats," he reasoned. I just gulped. I really didn't want to kill too many people. I knew I was a career, but I didn't want anyone dead. Of course, to get home forty-six people would have to die and I doubted I could make it through all of that without killing a single person. I would kill since I had too, but I wasn't going to enjoy it.

I walked over to the dummy and tried attacking it. He coached me along and I got a little better at it.

"You don't have any technique since you never trained," he thought aloud, "Perhaps something a bit more blunt and forceful would be a better weapon for you."

He picked up a wooden bat and handed it to me. What was I supposed to do with this? Beat the tributes to death? I ran after the dummy and started swinging at it. I found the bat was actually fairly light for something that looked so heavy. I guess that's why it was in the light weaponry station. I found it was a lot easier to use and I did a lot more damage.

After the dummy was beaten senseless, I turned back to Alex. He had a huge smile plastered across his face.

"I think we found a winner," he grinned. I just smirked and looked around. Isis was giving me the thumbs up from across the room while Jakov was smiling at me. I looked at Saturn to see him staring again. I felt shivers go up and down my spine. I didn't care what anyone else said, there was something wrong with Saturn. No one was that quiet unless they were hiding something.

"Ready for running again," Alex questioned. I was about to answer yes when I heard the bell ring. It was time for lunch. And then after that it would be time to perform for the Gamemakers. Oh joy.

**Gamemaker's Performance:**

**Head Gamemaker:**

**Lavender's POV:**

"Well that was scrumptious," one of my fellow Gamemakers said. We had just finished lunch and were sitting down to watch the tributes. I just ignored his comment and readied my pad of paper. I would observe every tribute and give them the proper score.

"Are we ready for the first tribute," I asked. Everyone nodded. I glanced at an Avox and he walked out the door. Let the performance begin.

After a few minutes, the boy from District One walked in. His platinum blonde hair was shining and his green eyes gleamed with intelligence.

"Hello, I'm Alex Carter," he announced. We nodded and motioned for him to begin. He picked up a claymore sword and started swinging it at dummies. He had a lot of precision and his technique was fabulous. Eventually, he motioned for trainers to come out. He dueled one at first, and then kept adding more. He was finally facing three trainers at once and handling the situation very well. The bell rang and we motioned for him to leave. He bowed and exited the room.

"Nine," I said. Then the argument ensued. Some people wanted to give him a nine, and others wanted to give him a ten. We finally decided upon ten and called for the next tribute. A girl with long golden hair walked in. Her ice blue eyes just stared back at us.

"I am Rouge Lockett," she stated. We nodded and she immediately walked over to the archery station. She grabbed a golden bow and started firing. At first, it wasn't very good. I could tell she hadn't fired an arrow in a long time. Then it slowly started getting better until she started hitting bull-eyes. Finally, she moved onto moving targets and hit every single one. Not a bulls-eye, but still hit them. She curtsied, which signaled to us she was done. We motioned for her to leave and stared at each other.

"Nine," we all agreed. It was a very good performance.

The next boy walked in. His black hair was neatly combed and his amber eyes seemed to glimmer with something. Something I couldn't put my finger on.

"Hello, I am Saturn Everett," we nodded and he walked over to the weapons. He picked up a whip in his right hand and a dagger in his left. He started off with trainers, which was a risky move if he didn't win the battle. They came forward and a battle ensued. He would warp his whip around their leg and they would tumble to the ground. Then he would get on top of them and hold his dagger to their neck. Every time he brought a trainer down it seemed like he wanted to actually slit their throats.

When he left, we all agreed on a ten. I personally wanted to give him an eleven, but no one else agreed. The next girl strutted in and I wanted to roll my eyes. She seemed like such a diva.

"Hey! My name is Isis Robertson!" Her dark brown hair seemed to have a life of its own and her bright green eyes seemed sharp. Maybe she wasn't such a diva. We all nodded and she stepped towards the swords. She went crazy on a dummy with a long sword she chose. She was actually pretty good with it. Then she went over to the plant station, identified some of those, and then worked on some medical stuff before we dismissed her.

We argued a bit on the score, but we finally decided to give her a solid eight.

In walked the boy from District Three. He had a confident stride and I wondered if he had any reason to be confident. He had short black hair and brown eyes. He looked fairly ordinary.

"My name is Solder Hemsworth," he grunted. I motioned with my hand for him to start. He walked over to the knives station and motioned for trainers to come. I wanted to laugh. A man from District Three going against trainers? Then he showed us he could actually do something. He pummeled the trainers to the ground. He slashed them, and beat the crap out of them. I could tell he obviously didn't care about their well being.

When he left, we all argued. I wanted to give him an eleven, but others wanted to give him a ten. In the end, I persuaded people to my side so we wrote down an eleven. I usually got what I wanted.

In shuffled a little girl. She seemed so small and weak. She had mousy brown hair and her brown eyes looked a bit dull.

"Hello…my name is Hali Wardle," she murmured. We motioned for her to go. She walked over to the light weaponry station and picked up a boomerang. She threw it around and hit a lot of the targets. However, how would that do anything to other tributes in the arena? She then did some edible plants identification and then built a fairly good shelter.

When she left we just laughed. The first bloodbath of the year. We all wrote down a four and moved on.

In walked the boy from District Four. He had shaggy, sandy hair and had a determined look in his sea green eyes.

"I'm Charlie Montgomery," he stated. We nodded and he walked over to the knot tying station. He quickly made a net, but it took ten minutes of his time. Then he grabbed a knife and motioned for trainers. The trainers came out and his strategy was pretty good. He would snag them in his net and then come down on them with his knife.

We let him go and gave him an eight. It was a good performance, but we saw some flaws in his technique.

In skipped the girl from four. Her black hair was a mess and her dark brown eyes looked oddly happy.

"Hey there! I'm Rapids Waters!" she yelled. We all just nodded and she walked right over to the heavy weaponry station. She picked up a machete and started swinging it around. She was pretty good, but she didn't have any technique. It was all brute force. Then she ran to the swimming station and dove in, full clothes and everything. She swam very fast and she seemed to belong in the water. Then to end it, she scurried up the climbing wall and then jumped down. She curtsied and left.

The food came and the Gamemakers dove in. I just rolled my eyes. The tributes were more important than the food. After a debate, we all agreed on a seven.

In walked the boy from five. He had messy brown hair and his auburn eyes showed he was determined to impress us.

"My name is Neal Dawson," he informed. I motioned for him to start. He walked over to the knife station and picked up two small blades. He held them so that the blades were in his fists and the blades were at the opposite sides of his thumb. Then he called for trainers and started punching them. I was shocked. I hadn't seen anything like this in years. He was boxing! Then, with the added knifes, he caused a lot of damage.

When he left we all agreed on an eight. He was very good for a non career tribute. The next tribute stormed in. Her dark brown hair was a in a tangled mess of a bun. Her dark brown eyes seemed full of spirit.

"I am Paloma Moretti," she growled. I gulped. She was trying to show us her fierce determination. Well, she succeeded. I motioned for her to start and she walked over to the camouflage station. She painted herself fairly well and I was impressed. The other Gamemakers weren't. Then she did something that impressed us all. She motioned for a trainer to come and she took him down with just her bare hands! She wrestled with him and I realized she must have gotten into a lot of brawls back home.

She left and we argued over it. I wanted to give her a seven, but everyone else thought she deserved a six. I gave in and wrote down a six. At least I tried.

Next hobbled in the boy from six and I had to bite my lip so I didn't laugh. He was so chubby…it was kind of amusing. Of course, I wasn't counting him out. Two years ago, a chubby girl who was good with traps made it to the final four. This kid with his brown eyes and brown hair could be the same.

"My name is Quince Fisher."

Wow, I couldn't have been more right. He set up traps and then motioned for the trainers to charge him. They all came running and everyone fell into some trap he set.

He left and we all gave him a five. He was good, but not as good as some of the other tributes we had seen.

A girl limped in. I could tell the other Gamemakers felt pity but I shoved it aside. Looks could be deceiving. Her short brown hair was neatly brushed and her grey eyes showed her timidity.

"M-my name is Abb-bb-y Parker." She stuttered. I motioned for her to start. She limped over to the knife station and picked up a few. She proceeded to hit a few targets. There wasn't a lot of power behind them and her accuracy wasn't the greatest. She finished with edible plants and then left.

We all wrote down a four and moved on. With that limp, she was a bloodbath for sure.

Next the man from District Seven walked in. He had dark brown hair and I couldn't get past how dark brown his eyes were. My attention was also brought to his tattoo of a bird surrounded by chain links.

"My name is Link Trat," he said. I motioned for him to start. He ran over to the knife station and picked up a knife in each hand. He started out on dummies and then motioned for the trainers to come. He was fast like lightening. He was slashing and parrying these guys. He even let them use swords and he still won. He obviously spent a lot of time during training on knives.

Once he left another argument ensued. We finally decided a seven would be best.

A girl skipped in. She had curly brown hair that went down to her shoulders. Oddly enough, it was sticking out at some very weird angles. Her light brown eyes seemed…chipper? Most people did not come into this room happy.

"Hello! I'm Bree Sulivan!" she cheered. I just nodded and she walked over to the axe station and picked one up. She started swinging it around and was pretty good with it. Of course, a lot of people from District Seven were good with axes. She would have to impress us more. She did. She grabbed a few more axes and started throwing them. She put a lot of power behind them and the accuracy wasn't half bad.

When she left, we all agreed upon a seven. She was just as good as her district partner.

Next strode in the man from eight. His curly light brown hair was neatly cut and his light green eyes showed how nervous he was.

"I'm Jute Farlend," he mumbled. I motioned for him to start. He did something that surprised me. Instead of walking over to a weapons station he walked over to the medicine station. He created a simple brew of something and put it in a bottle. He then motioned for a man to come over. They fought and he was actually pretty good. Then he slashed right into the man's arm and the man screamed in pain. We were all shocked. Then the boy took the brew, poured it into the man's wounds, and then bandaged it up. When he left we all agreed upon an eight. I wanted to give him a nine for imagination, but apparently that wasn't a _real_ skill.

The girl from eight shuffled in and looked at all of us. She had brown hair that went a little past her shoulders. Her blue-green eyes stared at us in nervousness.

"Hello. My name is Azalea Cress," she murmured. We nodded for her to start and she ran to the axe station. She picked up a few axes and threw them. They weren't very far and her accuracy wasn't amazing. When she saw we weren't impressed, she ran to the swimming pool, quickly stripped down to her underwear, and started swimming. She was pretty good, but nothing phenomenal. When she left, we all wrote down a five without an argument.

The dark man from nine walked in next. His almost black eyes seemed to stare into my soul.

"My name is Vijay Blackman," he announced. We nodded for him to start. He grabbed a short sword and motioned for the trainers to come. Then he battled them. I grew quite bored fairly quickly. He was okay, but nothing amazing. When he left we gave him a six.

The next girl that came in made me yawn. She looked a bit full of herself. Her light caramel hair was perfectly straight and perfect. Her blue eyes seemed to say something else, though. It seemed to say she wasn't to be trifled with.

"Hello, my name is Alix Van Airengarde!"

I nodded and she went straight to the track. She breathed deeply and started sprinting. She was one of the fastest tributes I had ever seen. She kept it up for awhile until she slowed down. Then she ran to the weight equipment and jumped on top of it. She launched herself off of that and onto the top of the climbing wall. She jumped down and quickly grabbed a wooden bat. She motioned for a trainer to come and then just started wailing on him. When she left, I couldn't help but laugh. That girl was quite the spitfire! We decided that after that show she deserved and eight.

The next tribute to stride in was the man from ten. He had dark brown hair and light brown eyes. He smiled quickly and I realized he didn't have his two front teeth. Farmers could be so weird…

"My name is Conium Maculatum." He stated. I motioned for him to start and he walked over to the knife station. He grabbed two and started beating a dummy. His technique wasn't terrible. Then he ran around the track a few times. He finished with swimming a few laps in the pool averagely. When he left, we argued a bit but we decided on a six. By now half of the Gamemakers were too drunk to care what a tribute got.

In strode the girl from District Ten. Her blonde hair was in a pony tail and her gray eyes were observing us.

"My name is Natalie Swan," she murmured. I motioned for her to go. She walked over to the knife station and started throwing them. I watched her closely and realized how slow her actions were. It was as if she was not showing us everything. Like she wanted a low training score. Was that what happened to her district partner? Were these two trying to go unnoticed?

When she left we gave her a five. All I knew is I would have my eye on them in the games.

Next walked in the boy from eleven. He had a confident stride in his step. He seemed perfectly confident that he was going to own this.

"My name is Jakov Douglas," he confirmed.

I just nodded. He walked over to the heavy weaponry and picked up a mace. He started attacking a dummy and he mutilated it. He trainers came out warily and fought him. In the end, he beat most of them, and only got bested a few times. After he left, we decided he deserved a seven.

The girl from eleven walked in next. Her long light brown hair looked very nice and her green eyes seemed to be observing us. Her lips were bright red, which meant she was wearing lipstick. Not most tributes wore makeup to a performance.

"Hello! My name is Melody Trine!"

I nodded and let her to her thing. She went over to the spears and grabbed one. Then she grabbed a knife in her other hand and motioned for the trainers. Her battle technique was very unique. She would stab at them from a distance with her spear and if any of them got close she would stab with her knife. It was actually quite smart.

After she left, we argued a bit. We finally decided on a six.

The next tribute to stroll in was the boy from twelve. His hair black and his dark brown eyes gave me the creeps.

"My name is Dusk Shalts."

We motioned for him to go and he did. He went and painted himself into the scenery. He was quite good with camouflage. Then he grabbed a sword and started beating a dummy. He was pretty good with it. Once he left, we decided a six was the best.

Finally, the last tribute came in. Her long blonde hair looked very nice and her bright blue eyes seemed a bit hollow. I waited for her to say her name.

"Olive Pendragon," was all she said.

I nodded at her. Nothing. I motioned for her to go. Nothing still.

"You may begin," I stated.

"I know," she yawned. She just looked at her nails and stood there. What was this girl doing? Did she want a bad training score! After fifteen minutes of watching nothing, she left. I decided if she wanted a bad score than she would get it. We all wrote down a two and stood up. What an eventful performance. The interviews would be quiet interesting this year!

**Okay so here is the list of scores so you don't have to look over the entire chapter to find one or two. **

**District 1:**

**Girl: Rouge Lockett (18) TS 9**

**Boy: Alex Carter (16) TS 10**

**District 2:**

**Girl: Isis Robertson (16) TS 8**

**Boy: Saturn Everett (18) TS 10**

**District 3:**

**Girl: Hali Wardle (14) TS 4**

**Boy: Solder Hemsworth (16) TS 11**

**District 4:**

**Girl: Droplet "Rapids" Waters (15) TS: 7**

**Boy: Charlie Montgomery (18) TS 8**

**District 5:**

**Girl: Paloma Moretti (17) TS 6**

**Boy: Neal Dawson (18) TS 8**

**District 6:**

**Girl: Abby Parker (15) TS 4**

**Boy: Quince Fisher (14) TS 5**

**District 7:**

**Girl: Bree Sulivan (15) TS 7**

**Boy: Link Trat (17) TS 7**

**District 8:**

**Girl: Azalea Cress (16) TS 5**

**Boy: Jute Farlend (18) TS 8**

**District 9:**

**Girl: Alix van Airengarde (17) TS 8**

**Boy: Vijay Blackman (14) TS 6**

**District 10:**

**Girl: Natalie Swan (15) TS 5**

**Boy: Conium Maculatam (17) TS 6**

**District 11:**

**Girl: Melody Trine (16) TS 6**

**Boy: Jakov Douglas (15) TS 7**

**District 12:**

**Girl: Olivia "Olive" Pendragon (17) TS 2**

**Boy: Dusk Shalt (17) TS 6**

**Okay so here is the deal with Training Scores. Please don't complain about it. If you have a problem with the score, PM me. But here is the thing, it's completely from the Gamemaker's point of view. Like Quince, he is great at traps but in the Gamemakers eyes that's not a good talent. Also, my last SYOT someone got a four training score and then they made it to the final three. So this doesn't count anyone out its just for show and for sponsor stuff in the story.**

**So please review! After this are the interview (I skip the prep day) and then the games! So yeah, review and tell me what you think! Also, when the games come remember there are the replacements and to make it easier at the end of the chapter I'll put a list and every new chapter have it there and update it. Like it will say if Rouge is dead but her replacement is alive. You know stuff like that. **

**Anyways, REVIEW! **


	18. Interviews

**Pre Interviews:**

**Mentor's POV:**

**District One:**

**Agatha's POV:**

I sat down in one of the nice comfy chairs. Yesterday I had spent all day training my tributes for today. They didn't have a problem with it, though. Rouge was easy. She was good at acting anyways and she was just going to act likeable, friendly, and lovely to be around. Alex was a little bit harder. He was a quiet and smart guy. However, for a Career that doesn't reel in sponsors. Acting smart and quiet will make him appear weak. We finally decided we would go with confident and a bit arrogant. Then we had to help him act that way. It was quite a long ordeal.

"Alex is ready for his interviews," Copper said as he hobbled in. We were the two oldest mentors in District One. They choose us this year because they said our tributes would need brains this year instead of brawns. Well, they got their wish.

"Did you check on Rouge," I asked. He just shook his head.

"The door was locked but I don't think anything too bad could have happened," he laughed. I just chuckled along with him. Copper and I were very good friends. He was the first tribute that I mentored that also won. He took my advice and acted like a smart weakling. Then he showed he was smart and strong towards the end and one. His strategy was a lot like mine. It's really too bad most Careers don't take advantage of that strategy. Especially from District One since everyone thinks we are prim, proper, and over confident.

Alex walked out into the sitting room and I was stunned. Another beautiful outfit. It was simple, yet very refined. He was wearing black pants and a white shirt. However, he was wearing a vest that was incrusted with jewels that changed colors, just like on the Chariot Rides. He would be stunning. I wondered what Rouge would look like.

"Someone help!" I heard someone yell. We all looked down the hallway to see Rouge's stylist, Avarice, running towards us. He had a look of sheer panic on his face which shocked me. I had never seen Avarice look anything but calm and collected.

"What's wrong," Alex asked.

"Come quickly," he yelled and started running back down the hallway. Alex and Copper started moving and I made a motion with my hand for them to stop.

"I'll handle this. You two just make sure everything else is ready." I hobbled down the hallway after Avarice. I finally made it to Rouge's room. Avarice stood outside pacing.

"What's the matter," I asked.

"I have worked on this dress for weeks! I will not let some stupid, spoiled brat from District One ruin it!" he screamed.

"That doesn't explain what the problem is," I reasoned.

He just glared at me, "The _problem_ is that she hates the dress! She put it on, slapped me, and then ran into the bathroom. She locked the door and refuses to come out unless I get her a new dress! The dress is perfect! Now, go convince her to stop being so spoiled!"

I just sighed and walked into the room. I shut the door behind me and locked it. I would deal with this. I didn't know what was wrong with the dress but it had to be something fixable. Maybe it was a wrong color or something. Who really knows?

I scurried over to the bathroom door and knocked.

"Go away! Unless you have something acceptable to wear," I heard a strong voice shout.

"It's just little old me. Open up and let me talk to you," I asked.

"No," Rouge yelled, "I refuse to be seen in this dress! It's terrible! I refuse to leave until I get a new one!"

"Open up," I croaked. I just waited. She wouldn't dare disobey me. I heard the click of the lock being undone and the door slowly creaked open. She stepped out with tears in her eyes. I saw what the problem was.

It was a marvelous dress. It had the ever changing jewels all over the front and back of the upper part. It was kind of like a tight jumpsuit. Except she had noting on her legs and arms. Then, to cover up her legs, white feathers puffed out along the back and went down to her knees, but it kept her front completely revealed.

The worst part was that it was see through.

It was completely see through, even through the beautiful changing jewels. The only places it wasn't see through was the private areas where it had dark silver diamonds cover them. It was one of the most revealing "dresses" I had ever seen.

"I will not be paraded around like a prostitute to these people," she screamed, "I feel like a caged animal! I have to do everything anyone says! This is worse that I was at home! At least there I had my dignity and respect! Now I'm just a fricking pet to look at!"

I just slowly nodded, "He has forced you to play the angle of sexy. He knows your beautiful and is trying to use it to the best of his ability. In his sick and twisted way, he is really trying to help."

"Well, he isn't," she cried. Tears were starting to run down her face. I don't think a lot of people had seen her cry. She was really scared. She didn't want to do this. She didn't have a choice, though. And she knew it. She was acting like a caged animal, who was lashing out at anything that got close to it. "He's a stupid pervert who I hope dies an early, painful death!"

"Either you go out in this or you go out naked. It's your choice," I said sadly.

Her eyes widened but she kept up her strong persona, "At least there wouldn't be any pretending. That's what the Capital wants to see!" she hissed.

"Then give it to them," I relented, "but then your letting them win."

I saw recognition slowly settle on her face. Her face slowly contorted to sadness. For a second, I thought she was going to start sobbing, but then her face went completely blank.

"Then let's get it over with," she said with a monotone voice.

As she walked towards the door, all I could think of was how much a pitied her. She shouldn't have to deal with this. No one should. I remember when I did. When I was dressed similar to that. The pain it put me through. Sadly, the show must go on.

**Tributes POV:**

**District Eight:**

**Jute's POV:**

"Do you like it," my stylist asked.

"It looks pretty good," I complimented. She smiled and started clapping enthusiastically. My prep team joined in. We then left my room and I decided I would walk around a bit. I had plenty of time. I walked down the hallway until I stumbled upon a room. I walked in and found it was empty. However, it had a balcony. I walked out onto it and sighed. It was so nice to get a breath of fresh air. I finally let all my fears flow out. I was afraid I was going to die. I was afraid that my sister was going to die. I was afraid Azalea was going to die. I was afraid of everything.

I felt the tears start to pool in my eyelids. I tried to blink them away, but I couldn't. Who would I have to kill? What sort of monster would I become? I sighed and just closed my eyes. I couldn't appear too sad for my interview. I was going for the smart and brave angle. Looking like I had just sobbed my eyes out wouldn't help me at all.

"Hey, Jute. Our mentors are looking for us," Azalea chirped. I turned around to see her just standing there, watching me. How long had she been there?

I quickly turned back to the outside and wiped my tears away.

"They can keep looking," I complained. She just chuckled and came over by me. I could see her looking at me with my peripheral vision.

"This kind of reminds me of that first night on the train rides," she whispered, "How we stood out on the back of the train and talked. How you made me feel all better."

"Yeah," I mumbled.

She just looked at me again, "So now it's my turn," she said firmly. She put her hand on top of mine. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing that you need to worry about, Azalea," I adverted.

"If your worrying about it than I should be too. We are allies, remember?" she asked.

I just nodded, "Of course."

"So you'll tell me?"

"Not a chance."

She just sighed heavily. She looked out into the night. I wanted to tell her why I was worried, but I didn't find it appropriate. It wasn't that I didn't trust her; it was just that we were supposed to leave for the interview in a few minutes. There was no reason to get her all worked up.

I found myself longing that the silence was over. I hated how quiet it was. I felt just like I did on the back of the train. The entire time the silence was killing me, but I stayed there because I wasn't just going eat dinner without her. That would have been lonely and rude.

I found myself breaking the silence, just like last time, "What are you thinking," I asked.

She just laughed. "I was thinking about what you could be possibly worrying about."

"You aren't going to stop worrying until I tell you…are you?"

"Nope," she laughed, "So tell me."

"It's just the games…they are looming over my head! I'm worried about everyone I know and love dying. I'm afraid of dying! This is all so new and terrifying. A few days ago I was at home with my family. I was finally going to be done with the Reapings. And now not only I have to suffer but my sister has to suffer now too!" I vented.

I could feel the tears start to roll down my face again, "I know how you feel. My mother was dragged into this. She thought she was safe for years and years. Now, just because she had her only daughter reaped, she's sucked into possibly fighting for her life."

That really didn't help the tears stop flowing, "I'm just so…pissed. What gives the Capital the right to do this to us! To our family! Do those monsters have no limitations?" I cried.

She just stayed silent and gripped my hand tighter. I continued to rant, "I'm just so tired of feeling as if the weight of the world is on me! My sister is depending on me, my mother and father are relying on me, Quince and Abby are looking to me to lead the alliance, and you are expecting me to protect all of us! I just am so tired of being expected to be the hero!"

I finally shut up and just glared at the city. I felt so spent and I was just done.

"You could let someone else be the hero for once," she whispered.

I just laughed, "Like whom!"

"Like me."

I stopped in mid chuckled and just looked at her. She stared at me with determined eyes. She seemed determined to take care of me. To protect me. To make sure I got home all right.

Then I leaned into a kiss. We kissed for the first time and it was amazing. I felt refreshed and full of energy. I felt like I could take on the entire Capital.

"I love you," I whispered.

She smiled, "I love you too."

We kissed again and I was happy. For once, I wasn't the lone hero. As long as Azalea and I were together, we could take on the Hunger Games as partners, both sharing the role of hero.

**Interviews:**

**Europa's POV:**

"Three minutes until show time, Miss Europa," the stage director said. I just waved him off. I had been doing the interviews for five years now. I knew what I was doing. The girl finished entwining garnet into my brown hair. I had it in a high bun right now. This year's color was purple. I saw the purple eyes staring back at me and smiled. Ever since Caesar died, all the interviewers changed something to a different color every year. My mentor, Dixie, changed her skin color every year before she retired. I decided on a more subtle approach with my clothes and my eyes. I stood up and was pleased with the sparkling purple fabric. I was beautiful, as always.

I walked out onto the stage and heard the crowd's roar of approval. I sat down in my chair and looked at the tributes. Twenty-four people to interview.

"Hello, Panem! This is the 225th Hunger Games' interview portion! I hope you are all pleased. Now, let us start with the District One female, Rouge Lockett!" I yelled.

The crowd clapped when Rouge stood up. I was a bit shocked by her dress. It had a tight fitting bodice that was, well, see through. I still had gems on it that changed colors and her private parts were covered, but it was quite different from her Chariot Ride angle. The white feathers added a nice effect and she smiled and waved while she walked to her seat across from me. I heard some very disgusting sexual comments, but Rouge kept her smile on.

Smart girl.

She sat down and we smiled at each other. I could tell from right off the bat that she actually wasn't going for the sexy angle. She complimented the Capital and talked a bit about home. Her angle was friendly, kind, and loveable. When the buzzer sounded she had the Capital's applause. It was beyond loud.

The next tribute was Alex Carter. His blonde hair was slicked back and his outfit was dazzling. Very simple, but his vest had the ever changing gems that made him stand out. He sat down and I knew his angle was confident. He talked about how he was going to win and how there was no possible way he could lose. He talked a little about his girlfriend, after much prodding, but by that time the buzzer sounded. He left with a lot of applause. Everyone loves a good Career.

The next tribute was Isis Robertson. Her brown hair was curled to perfection. Her dress was a long flowing, green dress that made her eyes come alive. She sat down and we just started chatting. I soon caught on that she was going for the perfect girl. Everything in life was happy, she was the perfect tribute to sponsor, and everyone loved her. Now, whether that was true or not, I have no clue, but I supported her through it. When she left she had the Capital's approval.

Soon, Saturn Everett from District Two came down. His black hair was neatly combed and his outfit was very handsome. It was a beige, gold, and white ensemble that really complimented his coloring. His interview angle was completely different from the other Career. He was as sweet as pie and acted super nice. He complimented the Capital a ton and seemed to even be flirting with me a little. When he left, the Capital was very happy with him and I was too. He was pretty cute!

The next tribute was Hali Wardle and they were really using her angle to the best of her ability. I could tell by the knee length white dress and the very natural looking make up that they were going for innocent and kind. She also had her shoulder-length hair neatly brushed. She sat next to me and looked so small in that outfit, even though she was fourteen. We talked a bit. She complimented the other tributes and the Capital. She even played the sympathy card and talked about her eight year old little brother who was reaped. When the buzzer sounded, the Capital and I were both in tears.

After Hali sat down her district partner, Solder Hemsworth, came down. He was wearing all black. I felt as though death was coming for me right now. He was very big and made me feel very tiny and weak. His angle right away was confident and strong. We talked about his training score and he even went as far to say that he could kill every Career easily. He had better be able to back up those words because I saw a few of the careers, such as Alix and Saturn, giving him the death glare. He left with people confidently clapping. He impressed them, now he would just have to prove he was worth something.

Rapids Waters was the next tribute. She came down in a calf length bright blue dress. Her black hair was neatly in a small bun. Now, I expected her to be a pain in the butt since during the Chariot Rides she glared at everyone in the Capital. However, she was bubbly and very happy. I had no idea what her mentors did too her, but whatever they did worked. She complimented everyone said how much she loved everything. When the buzzer rang, she literally skipped back to her seat. I could tell the Capital audience was confused and so was I. I guess we would find out her real personality in the games.

The next tribute was Charlie Montgomery. They left his sandy brown hair natural and he was wearing a beautiful silver tuxedo. He sat down and smiled at the audience. He was definitely good at manipulating the Capital. He started off very easy going and likeable. Then he dove right into how he fiancée was his replacement and how he had to win so they could both survive and go home and get married. The Capital was practically sobbing by the end. He left with the Capital's pity, which could be a very good thing but could also quickly be lost.

After Charlie was Paloma Moretti. She took the stage and I liked most of her outfit. I adored her dark brown hair begin but up in a messy, yet elegant, bun. I loved her strapless maroon dress. It was the shoes that caught me off guard. They were black tennis shoes. Something no one wore with a dress. I asked her about the shoes first and she told me that she threw the high heels so hard at her stylist that they broke. I knew her angle was feisty right away. She was very passionate about winning and everyone could tell she wouldn't go done without a fight. When the buzzer sounded, the Capital respected her, but also found her quite amusing.

The next tribute was Neal Dawson. His brown hair was slicked back and he was in a simple black tuxedo. The second his mouth opened I could tell his angle was strong and cocky. I could tell he was acting because of how over dramatic he was being, but the Capital ate it up. When I asked anything about the Capital or home, he would answer quickly and change the subject. When the buzzer sounded, he left the Capital wanting more.

The next tribute limped to her seat. Her name was Abby Parker and she looked very nice. Her brown hair was down to her shoulders and nicely curled. She was wearing a sparkly black dress that really complimented her gray eyes. When I started talking to her, she panicked. I could tell by her facial expression that she had forgotten everything she practiced. She probably had a sympathy angle, but it was gone. She stuttered a lot and mumbled everything. When the buzzer sounded, she limped away. Not a single person in the Capital was impressed. She would soon be forgotten.

After Abby sat down, Quince Fisher came to center stage. He was wearing a green dress shirt with black pants. It looked nice on him. He sat down and the interview started. I wasn't really sure what his angle was, but it seemed to be honest. When I asked him a question he would honestly answer it to the best of his ability. The buzzer sounded and I thought the Capital had a good understanding of Quince. What I wasn't sure of is if they would remember the chubby boy from District Six.

Bree Sulivan took the stage next and everyone was stunned. Her shoulder length brown hair was even curlier than usual. She was wearing a short midnight blue dress that had a bubble skirt with black lace around it. She had black leggings that had amazing patterns on them with blue heels on her feet. She sat down and she was very funny and outgoing. However, she never gave too much away and kept that mysterious aura about her. When the buzzer sounded, the Capital thought she was hilarious and wanted to know more about her.

Her district partner, Link Trat, was the next one to be interviewed. He had on a dark green suit that was very fitting. His dark brown hair was perfectly pointed and he had a look of determination in his eyes. He sat down and I knew his angle immediately. He was going for mysterious and strong. He pulled it off very well. He diverted all my questions and he came off as confident and strong. The buzzer sounded and he left the Capital applauding loudly.

Azalea Cress from District Eight was next. She was wearing an absolutely stunning blue dress. It was simple, but very pretty. Her long brown hair was straightened and she had an Azalea flower in her hair. Her angle was the same as Quince, which was honesty. She answered all my questions just as she would to anyone and the Capital liked her for that. The difference between her and Quince is she also played up the mystery card a bit. When she left, she left the Capital with just a taste but wanting more.

The next tribute was Jute Farlend. He was wearing a white tuxedo, which looked very nice on him. His brown hair was slicked back and he looked very handsome. His angle was strong, but also kind and brave. He was very kind to everyone by complimenting everyone. He also said he was going to win for his family. When the buzzer sounded, he gained some of the Capital's respect.

After Jute took his seat, Alix Van Airengarde came on the stage. He brown hair was straightened and looked very appealing. She wore a very short red dress that had a plunging neckline. She sat down. Her angle was sly, catty, and sexy. She kept answering the questions in a flirty and seductive way. She also answered some questions with wit and a coy smile. Finally, she also showed she could be a bit mean and insulted some of the female tributes a bit. I could tell it was all an act, but the Capital loved it. When the buzzer sounded, the Capital roared with approval. They loved her a lot. The men liked her because she was sexy, and the woman loved her because of her wit and catty behavior.

The next tribute was Vijay Blackman. He was wearing a red tuxedo that matched his district partners dress. He sat down and his angle was mysterious, but cocky. He would answer every question in a way that didn't really give you an answer, but assured that he was winning this game. He left with the Capital's applause. They all knew he was one to watch out for.

Natalie Swan from District Ten was the next tribute to be interviewed. Her blonde hair was down and looked very nice. She was wearing a short orange dress that actually looked very nice on her. I looked at the tributes and saw them all looking at her. No one really knew who she was yet, including the tributes by the looks of it. As soon as she opened her mouth I saw what her angle was. She was acting like a ditzy blonde. Acting being the key word. I saw right through it, but I doubted anyone else did. She talked about how she was so happy to be chosen and how she couldn't wait to be on T.V. She left with the Capital's applause and the tributes glares. They obviously bought into it.

Her district partner, Conium Maculatum, walked down to the seat across from me. He was wearing a dark orange tuxedo that complimented his district partner's dress. His angle was mysterious and as if he had it in the bag. I glanced at the tributes and they didn't seem to be learning anything new about Conium. Apparently, the pair from district ten wanted to remain unknown and stay under the radar. I helped Conium to the best of my ability and it worked. The Capital liked him and the tributes ignored him.

Melody Trine was the next tribute to be interviewed. Her brown hair was up in a creative bun. She was wearing a yellow dress that went to her knees and she looked very optimistic. That was her angle as well. She was very humorous and acted as if she could win if she tried her hardest. She was also serious at times and said she knew what was needed of her to survive. At the end, she gained the Capital's support and they seemed to enjoy watching her.

Melody's district partner, Jakov Douglas, was next. He walked to his seat with a step of confidence in his step. He was wearing a gold tuxedo that really made his hair look amazing. His angle was definitely determined and aggressive. He talked about how he would win and no one was going to stand in his way.

The buzzer sounded and the Capital clapped. Then the most odd and hilarious thing happened. Before Jakov could even get up, Olive Pendragon pranced down and sat in his lap. She laid her legs across his and put her arms around his neck.

Her buzzer sounded so we just conducted the interview with her sitting in his lap. She was wearing a short copper dress that accented her body fairly well. Her blonde hair was up in a pony tail. Her angle was ditzy and slutty. For some reason, I got the odd feeling she was acting. However, everyone seemed to buy it up. When her buzzer sounded, she got off of Jakov and walked back to her seat. Jakov walked back to his with his entire face tomato red.

The last tribute to be interviewed was Dusk Shalts. He was wearing everything black, except his tie was a dark purple. He sat down and his black hair was neatly combed. His angle was mysterious, and a bit sneaky. I had a feeling that once he was hidden in the arena, even the Capital would have a hard time tracking him down. Of course, he would have the tracker in his arm, but that's beside the point. Towards the end he played the sympathy card for his grandpa and how if he lost his grandpa would be helpless in the arena. By the end, everyone wanted to know him a little better and they felt bad for him.

The interviews were over. I waved goodbye to everyone and headed back stage. I changed out of my outfit and drove home. I sat in bed with a warm cup of hot cocoa. I turned on the T.V. to see the list of tributes that had the most sponsors and sponsorship money. The tributes at the top had the most and the ones at the bottom might have next to none.

Solder Hemsworth

Alex Carter

Rouge Lockett

Alix Van Airengarde

Isis Robertson

Saturn Everett

Natalie Swan

Charlie Montgomery

Rapids Waters

Bree Sulivan

Jute Farlend

Jakov Douglas

Olive Pendragon

Dusk Shalts

Melody Trine

Hali Wardle

Neal Dawson

Paloma Moretti

Link Trat

Azalea Cress

Vijay Blackman

Conium Macultatum

Quince Fisher

Abby Parker

I nodded in agreement. That list made complete sense to me. Sadly, none of the Capital knew how much money a tribute had. S even though Charlie was eight he could have no money. Or even though Paloma is eighteen she could have tons of money. You never really knew…the only people who had guaranteed money were the top six or seven. I sank into bed and closed my eyes. Tomorrow was a big day…the beginning of the Hunger Games!

**After Interviews:**

**District Seven:**

**Link's POV:**

"We're 'home'. Get some sleep. Tomorrow is an important day," my mentor, Streak, said. I walked to my room alongside Bree. We made it to our rooms in silence. I opened my door to step into it. Then I heard a small noise that made me turn around. Bree had cleared her throat and was looking right at me.

"I know we've had our differences…but I want to wish you good luck. If, for some reason, I don't win, you are one of the other tributes I would like to see win." She stated.

I just looked at her and nodded. I accepted her weird apology. "Thanks…same to you."

With that, we both stepped into our rooms and shut the doors. I walked to my dresser and quickly rifled through it. I changed out of my tuxedo into some comfortable clothes and waited. Every night our escort did an inspection. I lay in bed and pretended to sleep. Fifteen minutes later, I heard the door creak open, and then shut. After a few minutes, I hopped out of bed and raced to the door. I opened it and made sure the coast was clear. I ran to the stairwell and ran up to the roof. When I made it, I was out of breath. I walked over to the garden and waited. Every night I would come up here. I was hoping Rouge would show up. She hadn't once. Now my hopes were even higher. She said that it "never happened" but it did. And, for some reason, I was falling in love with her.

I wanted to see her before we went into the arena. One of us, or both of us, could die in the bloodbath. I needed to see her…to see if there was some distinct possibility that she felt the same way. I kept waiting. I thought of that dress she wore tonight…she would never wear something like that willingly…or would she? How well did I really know her? Look at me! After one deep conversation I was falling in love! I never fell in love! I was the guy back home that never fell in love with girls because I didn't spend enough time socializing. Now I had one stupid conversation and I was in love…something was seriously wrong with me.

I waited. One minute turned into ten minutes. Ten minutes turned into a half an hour. A half an hour turned into an hour. When it finally hit an hour, I was done. This was all in my head. I had been waiting up here every night like a love struck teenager while she was probably down in her bed sleeping. I probably never even crossed her mind.

I walked down the stairwell to my floor. I snuck into my room and shut the door. I changed into some pajamas and slid into bed. In the morning I would be in the Hunger Games. I would have to fight for my life. For my mom's life. For Hali's life. No pressure, right? I slowly sunk into unconsciousness…

Then I heard the knocking. I bolted up and looked over at the clock. It was one in the morning. I had been asleep for a few hours. I heard the knock again.

"Come in," I said sleepily. The door opened and someone stepped into the room.

"Are you asleep," the stranger asked.

"Yes, very much so." I replied sarcastically. I heard a shaky laugh from the stranger. As the stranger got closer, I thought it was Bree. Then she stepped into the moonlight and I saw it was Rouge in black pajamas. I rubbed my eyes. I had to be dreaming…I even pinched myself. No I wasn't.

She nodded to the other side of my bed, "Do you mind?" she asked.

I just shook my head. She climbed over me and I saw how red her eyes were. She had been crying… a lot. We just laid there for a few minutes.

"I'm assuming something's wrong…since you haven't talked to since that night." I stated. I could feel the anger building up inside of me. Who did she think she was? Coming to me only when she had some problem.

I glanced over to see silent tears streaming down her face. My heart melted in seconds and a pulled her towards me. She didn't fight it and I held her while the tears came down her face onto my shirt. I tried rubbing her back up and down her spine. It seemed to help.

"What's wrong," I asked again.

"The things those men said," she whispered, "They talked to me as if I was some animal they could buy! Some sex toy! Some-Some!" she sobbed. I held her closer and let her sob into my chest. I knew she didn't want to wear that dress. Who would?

"It's okay…it's over now….they won't ever be able to talk to you like that again," I tried to say comfortingly. She just continued to sob. For a girl who came off so strong, she seemed so fragile sometimes. It was then I realized I was probably one of the only people who got to see her in this state. Maybe that's why I had fallen for her so quickly. Maybe it was because I could see a side of her no one could.

"That dress was demented," she whispered, "It made me feel so trapped…it took away any dignity I had and crushed it."

"It's over now," I whispered again. Her sobs slowly stopped and her breathing evened out. I thought she had fallen asleep.

"You went to the roof every night…why?" she asked. I jumped a little. How did she know?

"I was hoping you would be there…but you never were…how did you know?"

"Because I would always go up there and watch you. I was trying to get up the courage to talk to you again. Then tonight I didn't go because of that awful interview. I kept crying and the only thing I could think of was you…so I went up there and you weren't there. Then I went to this floor and found your room…and here I am…" she whispered.

"Here you are," I said. I continued to hold her until I knew she was asleep. I even looked at her eyes and they were closed. I sighed. I got what I wanted. I got to see her one last time; I knew when I woke in the morning she would be gone. It never would have happened in her mind. For some reason, I was okay with that. She just didn't want to be hurt by getting to close to anyone. It made sense.

Then she mumbled something in her sleep, "I love you."

I froze. Was she awake? I checked her eye lids again and they were closed. Well, damn. I wanted to be the one to say it first…

**So what do you guys think? Tell me in review! I'm sorry it sucks so much, I am so bad at interviews it's not even funny! Next chapter is the games! I am so excited! Expect people have to die…**

**Also, go vote on my profile. I can't believe we are already at the games! Thank you all of you for being so dedicated to the story! **


	19. Bloodbath

**Thanks to MrPeetaMellark for your awesome idea! **

**Also, everytime I do a POV in this chapter it will go back to the beginning of the bloodbath. This is just the bloodbath. Day One will be a separate chapter.**

**Bloodbath:**

**District Two:**

**Isis' POV:**

I opened my eyes and knew what time it was right away. It was time to get ready for the Hunger Games. I ran to the shower and got in right away. It was going to be my last shower for a long time, so I was going to take my own sweet time! I spent around an hour in the shower before I decided it would be in my best interest to get out. I slowly dried my hair with an old fashioned hair dryer before I divided it and put it into long, messy pigtails.

I stepped out to my room and quickly got dressed. It really didn't matter what I wore since I was going to have to wear the mandatory tribute clothes anyways… Hopefully the color scheme complimented my skin tone…

There was a knock at my door. I found my escort standing there with a wicked grin on her face. It was time, and she was excited. Saturn was standing behind her with a sleepy look in his eyes. He so had just woken up. Lazy bones…

I pranced into the hallway. I followed Sparkler and she took us to the roof. We quickly boarded the hovercraft. I sat down and just stared out the windows. This was going to be a long ride.

"We have a special surprise for you," a Peacekeeper grunted. I just rolled my eyes. Unless it was a map of the arena I really didn't care. He opened the door and I saw the surprise.

It was far better than a map.

"Brielle," I screeched. I ran over to my nanny and hugged her. I glanced over at Saturn to see her hugging some blonde girl. She looked familiar. Constance or something like that…

"We don't have a lot of time," Brielle whispered, "Don't let his cloud your thinking. Just win so we can go home together."

I just nodded and smiled. I felt the tears in my eyes and saw they were mirrored in hers. It had taken being sent into the Hunger Games and having her life put in danger to realize how much I loved her, but it finally dawned upon me. It was hard to imagine my life without Brielle. She was a mother to me.

The hovercraft landed and they ushered us out. I waved goodbye and Brielle waved back. They stayed on it. The door slowly closed before they took off. We were then blindfolded and put into some elevator. I could feel us going further and further down into the ground. Suddenly, we were in some sort of building. I was pushed and shoved until I heard a door open and slam shut. The blindfold was taken off of me. I found my stylist standing in front of me with a huge smile on her face. She quickly opened the package of clothes and looked at them warily.

It was a dress. A really graceful, kind of puffy, dress. It looked really old and it definitely wasn't Capital fashion. Then there was a dark red cloak that went with it. It had a hood, but no arm sleeves. I quickly changed into it and looked into the mirror. The dress made me look so much older…

I stepped onto the metal plate and wondered what the arena would be. The glass came down behind me and I gulped. I was about to find out…

The launch pad started shooting upwards and I closed my eyes. I counted to ten. Then I opened my eyes when I felt bright light on them. The arena was… Amazing. The Cornucopia was in the middle of a giant field. I mean, this field was huge. It had rolling hills and the grass was lush and long. I looked to my left to see a tribute that was probably thirty feet away from me. It was Rouge. The person to my left was Jakov. The boys' clothing wasn't that different from the girls. They were wearing very graceful and old looking clothes that seemed free and seemed to also flow.

I looked past the field to see a giant wall. Everything that wasn't part of the field seemed to be a long ways away. It would take tributes plenty of time to go from the Cornucopia to whatever destination they chose. It seemed to surround a town of some sort. Past the town was a huge castle. The Castle was also in the walls that surrounded the city. Dang, that city had a lot of protection. Not only were their walls, but there was a moat with a drawbridge! I had a feeling we were in medieval times…

To the right of the castle and town was a smaller, quainter village. To the right of the village was a giant river that seemed to lead up a small hill. I couldn't see what was on the hill because a giant cliff was obstructing my view. I looked to my right to see a huge forest. The forest stretched all the way behind me. Then, right behind me, a far ways away, was a lake. I looked to my left to see a building of some sort. A farm perhaps…

Past the farm was a giant chasm that had a rickety bridge across it. Then, between the chasm and the castle, there was a huge mountain. It had plenty of brown on it so I knew it wasn't a tribute's paradise. Then, in the middle of all of this and in the middle of the field, was the golden Cornucopia.

I got into a running position. I would need to sprint to the Cornucopia and grab the nearest weapon. I would have to take someone down. The gong sounded and I was off. I ran as fast as I could, but I saw the two who were racing towards the Cornucopia the fastest. Rouge and Alix were both sprinting for it. They both wanted to get there first.

On the way to the Cornucopia, I saw the glint of metal. I picked up a small knife and smiled. I looked for the nearest tribute and saw Solder. I almost started laughing. If I could take down the guy with the highest training score and the guy with the most sponsors, then the Careers would worship the ground I walked on!

I threw the knife and waited. I missed by a couple feet. He stopped running and looked right at me. So much for the element of surprise. He picked up the knife and started running towards me. I quickly ran to the next metal object and found a very large and crude sword. I held it out menacingly. I hoped it would stop him from charging. It didn't.

I swung with my sword and hit him right in the shoulder. He powered right through my swing, grunting in pain, and thrusted his knife at my arm. I quickly jumped back and swung again. It hit him in the same spot and he grunted in pain. He threw the knife at me and it hit me right in the stomach. I groaned in pain and pulled it out. It hadn't gone in too deep and it hit the side of my stomach.

I threw the knife at the nearest tribute that wasn't Solder and hit her right in the leg. She screamed in pain, and I waved at the girl from six. I hoped that helped her limp… Not.

I turned my attention back to Solder and smiled. He was mine now. I charged at him with the sword and ran it right through his leg. He screamed in pain and full on tackled me to the ground. He pinned me down with his arms and just grinned at me. Shit. Things weren't looking good for me. He then proceeded to beat the crap out of me. Punch after punch hit me on my face, on my neck, and on my upper body. I tried everything to get him off. I bit, I scratched, and I kicked. I screamed and spit blood in his face. Nothing seemed to faze him.

I was going to die. It was day one, and I was going to lose. I silently thought of Brielle. I was so sorry I failed her. I hoped Alix would take care of her… For me. I hoped the Careers wouldn't kill her. They had to have a heart. I looked up into Solder's eyes and glared. He grabbed my neck and started to strangle me. This would be the end. Dying. The world started to go black. I could feel my life leave me. I just hoped someone would kill this bastard.

Suddenly, the pressure on my neck left me. I gasped for breath. Solder was lying on top of me rubbing his head. Then it hit him again. I heard a crack. Then another crack. Someone was bashing his skull in. I rolled his dead carcass and tried to breathe but I found that I was bruised everywhere. I looked up at Alix. She was standing there with a look of hate in her eyes while she held a golden bat that was now covered in blood.

She turned to Solder's dead body and spat on him, "Looks like I'm the true Career. I killed you and I won."

Alix quickly turned to me, "Are you alright?"

I just nodded. I didn't want to try to talk yet. She ran back to the Cornucopia, which was quite a distance away. She ran all the way here to save me… I knew I could trust her. I looked up in the sky to see the hovercraft. The ladder suddenly shot down and a lady hopped off of it. She was older, which probably meant she was Solder's mom. She looked at her son's body and started sobbing. She held him in her arms. I walked up to her and snapped her neck. She fell over dead next to her son. Sorry lady, it's a game. A game that I almost lost and I won't ever get that close to losing again.

**District Eight:**

**Azalea's POV:**

The gong sounded and I was running. The plan was to meet up at the Cornucopia and then grab some supplies. Then we were going to run to wherever we chose, which could be a lot of places. I ran straight towards the Cornucopia, the entire time looking for my allies and avoiding enemies. I heard a scream and looked to my left. Abby was hobbling even slower now and I could see blood running down her leg. I ran over to her as fast as I could.

Once I made it over to her, she expressed complete relief. "Go on I'll catch up," she yelled.

I quickly picked her up bridal style and started running towards the Cornucopia. No one gets left behind. All four of us were making it out of here. I bumped into the girl from seven and she just looked at me. She had a look of pity in her eyes before she got up and started running again. It was complete chaos. People were running every which way looking for allies. At the rate things were going, the Careers were going to pick all of us off right here.

I made it to the Cornucopia and quickly set Abby down. I glanced to my right to see Alix and Rouge fighting over something. Well, I wasn't going to get in the middle of it. I quickly packed up whatever I could. Four backpacks, throwing knives, a sword, two axes, and a first aid kit for Abby. I turned around to see Quince standing by Abby. Where the heck was Jute? I glanced around and almost screamed in fright. He was fighting with the boy from one.

I thrust everything except the sword and axes at Abby and Quince.

"See that village over there," I yelled. I pointed to the quaint one, and not the one surrounded by walls. They nodded.

"I want you guys to run over there and Jute and I will meet you there!" They just nodded and started running. I turned to where Jute was and charged. No way was Alex going to kill Jute! Over my dead body!

Right now the fight was going in Alex's favor. He had a sword, while Jute only had two knives. I kept sprinting. Only a little bit farther. I could make it before he lost. One knife went flying from Jute's hand.

I raised one of my axes and threw it. It would have sunk right into Alex's side if he didn't see it coming. He jumped out of the way and glared at me. I quickly tossed the sword to Jute and he caught it. He spun around and got into a fighting stance. I quickly grabbed my fallen axe and prepared to throw it again. Alex desperately lunged at Jute. Jute parried and started attacking Alex. I threw one of my axes and somehow missed.

I was about to attack Alex again when I spotted someone coming from the corner of my eye. I spun around to see Alix running at me with a golden bat. I would have marveled at it if it wasn't for the fact she was going to try to kill me with it. I swung with my axe and hoped to hit something. I was good at throwing axes, but when it came to weapon versus weapon combat I wasn't the best.

Alix quickly dodged it and swung at me with her bat. I dodged and then we quickly fell into a dance of some sort. I would swing and then she would swing. I never even hit her once. She hit me a few times and it hurt a lot, but it was just metal. It's not like she could slice into my skin with it. She was getting faster and I tried to keep up with her tempo. This girl was fast. However, I could tell she was slowly tiring out. No one could keep up this speed forever.

That's when I heard a blood curdling scream.

I turned to my right to see Isis being pummeled by some guy. They were pretty far away. Alix and I glanced at each other before she took off to save her friend. I had better hurry and get out of here before she came back.

I turned around to see Jute was losing again. I charged Alex with my axe. He moved his sword and blocked it. The he quickly brought his sword on the wooden handle and broke the head off of it, leaving me with just holding a stick.

I looked at it and then at him. I didn't need to kill him… Just a diversion. I swung down the wooden handle on top of his head. The suddenness of it and the bluntness of it sent him sprawling on the ground. I grabbed Jute's hand and I started leading him towards the village. We were sprinting for our lives. I wanted to scream. What if we didn't make it in time? I glance behind me to see Alex sprinting after us. I glanced at his hand and gulped. He was holding my axe.

That's when I realized he was going to throw it. I watched the axe as it came flying from his hand and right towards us. I knew it was headed for Jute. The promise flashed into my head. I said I would be the hero. I saved Abby. I saved Quince. Now it was time to save Jute. I shoved him ahead of me and dove into the path of the flying axe. I felt it hit my side and I screamed in pain.

"Azalea!" I heard Jute yell.

"Go! Go! You have to protect Abby and Quince! Run!" I screamed. I felt the hot tears roll down my face as I saw him run away. The selfish part of me wanted him to stay and die with me. I didn't want to be left behind. I guess that's one of the duties of a hero. You have to put everyone else above yourself.

Alex was on top of me in seconds. He held the sword up high. Oddly enough, I wasn't looking at the thing that would cause my death. I was looking at Alex. All I saw in his eyes was sadness. He wasn't a killing machine like I thought. He wanted me to live. Sadly, it was part of the game. As the sword came down through my skull, all I could think of was Jute. How I loved him. How I kept my promise. I was a hero for a while. I saved people. How else could I have wanted to die than being a hero?

**District Eight:**

**Replacement:**

**Violet Cress' POV:**

I grabbed onto the ladder in the dark hovercraft. They had just told me it was my time to go down into the arena. That meant one thing. My daughter was dead. My only child. The girl I had raised since birth. The girl I would have given my life for in a second. Dead. Now the Capital expected me to be next. I don't think so. No young teenagers were going to kill me. I was older, wiser, and had something I must do. I had to win these games to avenge my daughter's death.

The ladder shot down and I jumped from it. I quickly surveyed the area. I saw a boy, most likely my daughter's killer, a few feet away. I knew I was standing by my daughter, but I couldn't look at her. I didn't want to remember her mutilated and dead. I quickly kicked the young man in the stomach and he fell to the ground. I couldn't kill him without weapons.

I saw the forest in the distance. I fled towards it as fast as my limbs could take me. One step after another. I might not have had any training, but I could still win. I kept running. I didn't even want to look over my shoulder. I was wearing this weird dress and cloak that the other tributes had to wear, which meant I could possibly try to pass off as my daughter before people got close up. We had a lot of the same features, except I was older.

I finally made it to the forest's edge after an exhausting run. I quickly glanced behind my shoulder to confirm no one was coming after me. No one was. I ran farther into the forest. I just had to get away. I didn't care where I ended up, but I just had to be away from here.

Eventually I started to get turned around. I didn't know where I had entered and I didn't know where to go. I would turn right and end up at the same place I was five minutes ago. It had to be a Gamemaker's illusion. Was all the forest like this or just the part I was in? I kept running deeper.

That's when I heard it. An insane giggling. I looked to the source of the noise and almost screamed. There was this… thing… staring at me. It had a strange look in its red eyes. A look of pure glee. Its skin was a disgusting pale gray, but also looked like it had the texture of wood. It was smiling at me and its teeth were bright white and pointed. It's attire… It seemed like a scarecrow. Except it was a child. A Scarecrow kid.

Suddenly, it pulled out an oboe or some musical instrument. It started playing a weird tune. It was very slow and almost sad. What kind of muttation was this? Then it jumped into a bush. I ran over to the bush, but nothing was there. The tune kept playing, though, and then the trees started rustling. Five puppets fell from the trees. Puppets holding weapons.

I screamed and started running. My feet felt like they were on fire, but I knew that if I stopped I would die. The tune started getting faster. The puppets started getting quicker. I felt a blade sink into my calf. I screamed again and continued to run. The tune kept getting faster and faster until I felt like I was going to go insane. I screamed once last time before I fell and puppets came surrounded me. The tune finally ended when the blade of one of the puppets sunk into my heart.

**Muttation's POV:**

**Scarecrow Kid:**

Someone once told me, so long ago I don't remember who, not to go into the woods, or something bad would happen. I didn't listen. The pointy-eared people went into the woods all the time and they were fine. One day I entered the woods and this is where I have been since.

At first I was scared. I was different, but I don't remember how I was before. I was confined to the woods with others like me. There were only two others like me. We played and made music. One of the pointy-eared people would visit us. He was nice. He taught us a song that I still play. I made friends with a girl, who knew his song, but she only played with me a few times and I never saw her again. The pointy-eared people did not leave the forest either, but their territory was bigger than ours.

One day the pointy-eared people stopped visiting me. They stopped coming into our territory, but I could not leave to visit them. I was trapped. It was just me and the other two. One said he found new friends and new place, one where he wasn't bound to the forest; and so he left. I was sad without him, but I still had another friend. We played in the woods for a long time. One day he said he was starting to forget everything, and that made him sad. I think he forgot me, maybe even forgot himself because one day he was simply gone.

I was alone. I was sad. I had no one to play with. I did not sleep. I did not eat. I had done neither since entering the woods, but I had not noticed until I was alone. I did not cry, but only because I could not remember how. I wandered alone in the woods. I played by myself, which wasn't much fun. I learned to open and shut the doors of the woods that the gods used to control. I learned to make puppets, but they were not much fun to play with. I even gave them sharp toys, but the fun didn't get any better.

Sometimes someone managed to enter the woods and I was happy. I would play the song for them. I would make puppets for them. They danced with the puppets and sang. The singing sounded funny, but I had forgotten what real singing sounded like. I would play with them until they fell asleep. They had so much fun that they were too tired to wake up again. The gods were no longer around to make them into friends for me, so I watched them sleep until they turned skinny and white. Just like my new friend. This lady who wouldn't seem to wake up. Maybe she will be the first to wake up, but I doubt it. I was too much to play with for her to handle another round.

I do not know how time passes anywhere else. These woods have been my entire world for as long as I can remember. I think there was a time before I could remember, because I can remember a time I that was not alone. The only way I can tell that time exists is the secret place. It was once really pretty. I could not go inside, but I could look at it. I watched as it slowly fell. There isn't much left now, but I still like to visit. I look forward to when someone else will come and be my friend. For now I will wait. I don't get hurt but I'm not sure I am alive. I suppose my life is spent forgetting and being forgotten. I simply exist. Alone.

**Tribute's POV:**

**District Two:**

**Saturn's POV:**

I waited for the gong to sound. I had to get to the Cornucopia. I had to get there and grab a weapon. Then the carnage could begin. I was excited to kill. I had been waiting for this for a long time. I would just love to slit the throat of the girl from five. She thought she was so tough… I would show her one of these days!

The gong sounded and I started running. I was actually fairly fast. Well, faster than some of the tributes. I kept a steady pace and ran as fast as I could to the Cornucopia. I glanced around. All my fellow Careers were fighting now. I finally made it to the Cornucopia and I grabbed my two favorite weapons. A whip and a knife. Of course they would be in the Cornucopia. I turned around to see if the district five girl was around. For some reason I had it in for her since day one.

Then I calmed myself down. There was a list of people we were going to try to kill. We were going to try to kill Jute, Neal, and Solder. I searched for Solder and found him fighting with Isis. Would she be able to handle it? Alex had Jute in a fight. I searched for Neal and found Jakov battling him.

I found something almost as good. Rapids and the girl from seven had just taken off from the Cornucopia with a bunch of supplies. They were my kills. I started sprinting after them. They didn't notice at first. Then I tried to wrap my whip around Rapids' foot. I missed and she squealed. They both glanced behind them to see me running after them. They both started sprinting and so did I. They were headed towards the mountain. This was far too easy! Once they reached the mountain they would have to climb. I was most likely a far better climber than the girl from four.

I kept chasing them with a smirk on my face. I felt my vision just start to focus on Rapids. I usually could only focus on one person at a time. I started gaining on them. Then they suddenly veered off course. They sprinted even faster towards the bridge. I followed them onto the bridge and we were both running across it. They got to the end and spun around. They smirked at me and I just looked at them. What were they thinking?

The girl from seven pulled out a knife and started sawing one of the ropes that was holding up the bridge.

Crap.

I spun around and started running back. I had to make it back. I did not want to know where this chasm led. I felt a huge sway and the bridge was almost sideways. Only one more rope to cut.

I kept running across at a slanted angle and eventually climbed sideways. I almost made it to the end when I heard the final snap. I felt the bridge start to fall and I did the only thing left. I jumped.

I grabbed onto the edge of the land and pulled myself up. Once I was back in a standing position on sweet, dry land, I glared at them. The girl from seven waved while Rapids glared. Then they ran to who knows where. The reason I couldn't see was because there was a giant rock wall obscuring my view. Well, they were safe for awhile. However, they would eventually need to get back to this side and I would pay so much money to see them try.

I spun around and looked for some more tributes to kill. I found them and sprinted after them. They saw me coming right away and tried to run faster. I would have none of that. I kept running after them until I got close enough to use my whip. I started trying to wrap it around one girls' ankle. I tried several times before she I got it wrapped around. She fell and screamed. She screamed for her allies to save her, but they kept running. The other girl looked like she wanted to come back, but the boy kept pushing the rest of the alliance forward.

I landed on top of her and took my knife out. She struggled to get out from under me. I just laughed at her persistence. This girl was a spitfire. That would make her all the more fun to torture.

I took my knife and dragged it lightly across her neck. It created a small red line and she started bleeding a little. She just glared at me. Then she quickly tried to hit me with her left fist. She was quick, but I was quicker. I caught her wrist and twisted it. A beautiful cracking sound was heard and I knew I broke her wrist. She cried out and I saw tears spring to her eyes.

I took my knife out and jabbed it into her chest. In the right place so it wouldn't hit anything vital. She stopped herself from crying out. So I stabbed her again in the same place. And again. And again. I kept doing it until she was screaming in pain. It was music to my ears and the blood that flowed onto me was like paint. I was an artist at work.

I moved the knife so it was hovering over her stomach. She gripped the knife and I just shoved her hand away. She grabbed a rock with her good hand and smashed it into my skull. I then proceeded to break that wrist too.

I realized I was started to laugh like a maniac. I grabbed her head and smashed it into the ground. I then proceeded to slice her cheek open. Then her other cheek. Then her forehead. I proceeded to do this with other parts of her body. The entire time I would dig my nails into them and scratch them as hard as I could. Her screams were like drugs to me.

I finally got bored with this toy and just drove the knife into her heart. She gasped and then the light left her eyes. The girl from district eleven, Melody, was dead.

I waited for the hovercraft to drop the next replacement. I couldn't wait for my new toy to play with. A girl with golden hair was the new tribute and I just stared at her. She looked at Melody, and then at me. She then screamed and started running. I quickly tackled her to the ground. I drew out my knife. It was time to have some more fun.

Suddenly, there was a loud cracking noise. Then another one and another one until I knew my toy was broken. I glared up at Alix and her golden bat.

"How dare you steal my kill!" I hissed.

"You _monster_!" she screamed, "I wish I could have stopped you sooner, but I was in the middle of a fight. I knew you were screwed up from the second I saw you! Those girls were _people_, you sick bastard! How could you treat them like that!"

"I'm just playing the game and having some fun," I grinned.

"As long as I'm around, I promise you won't lay another hand on a tribute," she hissed.

"That's not your choice. I don' care if you're trying to play God or angel, but back off. If I catch them I can do with them whatever I choose," I growled. I saw tears start to run down her face as she looked at Melody. I just rolled my eyes. What's the point of just killing your tributes? If you don't have fun this game would be so boring! Whatever, I will have more toys in the future…

**District Twelve:**

**Olive's POV:**

My stomach felt like it was on fire. I had been preparing for the bloodbath for days, and now I was here. I was waiting for the gong to sound. I felt so sick. I counted to ten, and then the gong sounded. I just started walking. If I started running people would notice me. As long as I didn't look like I was serious then people would leave me alone.

I started jogging, and then finally started sprinting. I wanted to get there and then get it over with. I almost ran into Dusk and Paloma. They had their supplies and were running towards the forest. Dusk just nodded at me, as if he was saying good luck. I just smiled back and ran faster. I made it to the Cornucopia and grabbed a backpack. Then I grabbed a few knives and put them in the loop of my gown, which was behind my cloak.

I had to decide where to run and fast. I decided to town that was surrounded by walls would be a good choice. Plenty of places to hide. I was about to start running when I saw Jakov. He was fighting with Neal from District Five. For some reason, Neal was losing. Then it hit me that he was losing because he was weighed down by a bunch of supplies and only had one knife. Jakov had a mace and could move a lot faster.

I knew I was going to regret it, but I couldn't just leave him there to die. I grabbed one of my four hidden knives and threw it at Jakov. It hit him right in the back and he cried out in pain. It gave Neal enough time to grab Jakov's mace and run. Jakov looked like he was going to chase after him, but then he turned on me.

I gulped and started running. I could hear him behind me. Then he grabbed me by my hair and dragged me back to the Cornucopia. I felt my heart start to race. I couldn't die. The whole reason I wasn't myself this week was so I could win and be myself forever. Was all that for nothing? He slammed me up against the Cornucopia.

"Don't move." He hissed. He went and searched for a weapon of some kind. I didn't move because I knew he would just chase me down. He was a lot faster than me. I just had to time my escape right. When he was least expecting it. It waited for a bit. Then I saw the Careers come back. Alix was crying, Alex looked very far off, Saturn was covered in blood, and Isis was swollen and bruised. Isis sat down and started applying first aid to herself. The rest of them just stared at me.

"Why haven't you killed her yet," Alex questioned Jakov.

"I thought you might want to kill her. She distracted me and made Neal get away!" Jakov yelled.

The mood changed completely. I could tell they were extremely pissed at me. The slut made the biggest competition in the games live. What they didn't know was that I was important in the competition too.

"You deal with her. You caught her so she is your kill," Saturn ordered.

Jakov shrugged and came up to me. He had a sword in his hand, but instead of stabbing me he slapped me. I purposely fell to the ground and started to cry. Jakov started to laugh and looked away from me. I just smiled. I made contact with Alex and his eyes got wider. I quickly grabbed a knife and stabbed it into Jakov's leg before Alex could warn him. I tore through the muscle down his leg. I quickly got up and started running. I heard the Careers shouting for Jakov to capture me. I glanced behind me to see Jakov hobbling after me. None of his fellow Careers were helping him. Well, I didn't mind!

I got to the draw bridge and ran across it. I entered the town and stopped cold.

There were people everywhere.

I waited for them to attack me, but they didn't.

"Hello, Miss, may I help you?"

I turned around to see a man in knight's armor talking to me. I waited for fangs to grow or something. All that I saw was concern in his eyes. Were these real people or muttations?

"Nothing," I murmured. I started to run deeper into the city. Then Jakov showed up. I almost ran into him, but I stopped when he slashed at me with his sword. I grabbed a knife out and started to swipe at him. I waited for the people around us to transform and try to eat us. However, all they did was gasp and watch. I was so confused.

The battle kept going for awhile. I wanted to kill him, but knives were not my specialty. I would have tried to run away, but in every direction there were people blocking my escape route. Then Jakov made a fatal mistake. He missed hitting me and ran his sword into a man.

Everyone froze.

Their eyes turned yellow and their skin turned gray. Their teeth grew sharper and they all started attacking Jakov. I gasped and backed away. I expected them to attack me as well, but they only went after Jakov. Then only reason I knew he was dead was when they turned back to normal and started going about their business again. It was as if they didn't even remember turning into muttations. I backed up into the shadows and I waited. A girl was dropped from the hovercraft. She took one look around and started crying. She quickly disappeared into the masses of people and I let out my first breath of relief since I was put into the arena. Seven cannons then went off. Seven people were dead. The bloodbath was over, and I was safe. For now…

**Review! Okay so day one will be after this! Also, I'm sorry for the tributes that died. I loved them all and ill do a little eulogy for them. **

**Solder, you had the best chances of winning. I liked you a lot because you wre really fun to write and you were a pretty cool person.**

**Solder's mom, you should've ran and not cried over your sons dead body.**

**Azalea, you were the hardest to kill this chapter. I loved your romance and I loved you. You were definitely a flower in a field of weeds.**

**Violet Cress, I'm sorry I used Scarecrow kid to kill you. I just had to add him in there.**

**Melody, you were on of the best actresses in these games. Sorry you died so gruesomely, but Saturn had to kill someone.**

**Taint, I didn't know you that well but I think you're a great person. Would have been to fun to have you as a tribute.**

**Jakov, sorry you died. I actually liked you a ton, but I needed to get the mutts purpose across.**

**To clarify with the mutts. They had personalities now, including Scarecrow Kid. So pretty much they are like real people (I mean the ones that look like people.), but if you ever attack one they will all attack you. So pretty much the tributes can go into society and meet people and maybe even find an alliance in within the people. Yep another twist.**

**So in your review, tell me what you thought about everything! The arena, the mutts, the bloodbath, I mean everything!**

**Unbolded means they are dead**.

**District 1:**

**Girl: Rouge Lockett **

**Brother: Silver Lockett**

**Boy: Alex Carter **

**Girlfriend: Olivia Crane**

**District 2:**

**Girl: Isis Robertson **

**Nanny: Brielle Ibe**

**Boy: Saturn Everett **

**Friend: Constantine Blanche**

**District 3:**

**Girl: Hali Wardle **

**Brother: Ben Wardle**

Boy: Solder Hemsworth _(killed by Alix with golden bat during the bloodbath)_

Mother: Agrippa Hemsworth _(killed by Isis by snapping neck during bloodbath)_

**District 4:**

**Girl: Droplet "Rapids" Waters **

**Mother: Coral Waters**

**Boy: Charlie Montgomery **

**Fiancée: Claire Estate**

**District 5:**

**Girl: Paloma Moretti **

**Brother: Dario Moretti**

**Boy: Neal Dawson **

**Sister: Hali Dawson**

**District 6:**

**Girl: Abby Parker **

**Father: Mill Parker**

**Boy: Quince Fisher **

**Sister: Piper Fisher**

**District 7:**

**Girl: Bree Sulivan **

**Friend: Sarah Matthews**

**Boy: Link Trat **

**Mother: Evalynn Trat**

**District 8:**

Girl: Azalea Cress _(killed by Alex during bloodbath with her own throwing axe)_

Mother: Violet Cress _(killed by Scarecrow Kid Mutt during bloodbath)_

**Boy: Jute Farlend **

**Sister: Alice Farlend**

**District 9:**

**Girl: Alix van Airengarde **

**Friend: Anna Raven**

**Boy: Vijay Blackman**

**Friend: Jim Leewood**

**District 10:**

**Girl: Natalie Swan **

**Friend: Ann Kingston**

**Boy: Cornium Maculatam **

**Sister: Danaus Maculatam**

**District 11:**

Girl: Melody Trine _(tortured to death by Saturn during the bloodbath)_

Friend: Taint Humbue _(killed by Alix with bat during bloodbath as an act of mercy)_

Boy: Jakov Douglas _(killed by the human muttations during the bloodbath)_

**Girlfriend: Shadow**

**District 12:**

**Girl: Olivia "Olive" Pendragon **

**Brother: Oliver Pendragon**

**Boy: Dusk Shalt **

**Grandfather: Sonny Shalt**


End file.
